Illustrative valuation range
Numbers stay in your browser. Presets are educational, not comps.
Methodology
Indicative going-concern value = (recast SDE × selected multiple) + inventory at cost. Owned real estate is excluded. Presets are educational. The 2025 BizBuySell grocery/supermarket sold average earnings multiple is 3.38, the five-year average is 2.66, and the sold IQR is 1.60–3.15 — those are a listing-site sample, not a quote on your store.
Numbers never leave the browser. There is no account, no save, and no data collection. Outputs are educational sketches for a conversation with Jason Taken — not appraisals, not lender quotes, and not offers.
3.38 average earnings multiple on grocery/supermarket businesses sold on BizBuySell in 2025. SBA 7(a) can finance a change of ownership; the published maximum is $5 million. USDA FNS: SNAP authorization does not transfer; the new owner files a new application. 2.1% average net profit for food retailers in 2025 (FMI Speaks sample).
Read SDE, inventory at cost, DSCR, and how to value a grocery store.
| Topic | Grocery reading | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings | Recast SDE or EBITDA | SDE |
| Stockroom | Inventory at cost | inventory |
| EBT | New owner application | SNAP |
| Debt | DSCR on the recast | DSCR |
Illustrative, not a quote. For a Grocery Store Valuation Calculator, recast SDE of $384,263 at 1.67×–3.13× plus $135,345 inventory at cost frames a going-concern band of about $777,064 to $1,338,088. The 2.54× midpoint lands near $1,111,373. Lease remaining term and license lag can move the check more than the multiple.
Checklist: Grocery Store Valuation Calculator
- Recast the P&L into SDE
- Separate inventory at cost
- Abstract the lease
- List SNAP, alcohol, food, WIC, tobacco
- Read the wholesaler agreement
- Write license conditions into the LOI
Illustrative, not a quote. Keep the conversation on Grocery Store Valuation Calculator, scan data, and license clocks — not on a neighbor’s rumor multiple.
Unreported cash does not survive SBA. It also does not survive a serious conventional buyer. See also SDE, inventory at cost, shrink, SNAP authorization.
Ethnic mix without language on the floor is a shrink plan. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Seller notes often sit on standby behind SBA. Read the standby, not the folklore. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
A CIM that omits the lease abstract is a brochure.
Selling to family or a manager still needs a real price and a real note. Soft language creates hard lawsuits. See also lease diligence, liquor transfer, recasting a P&L.
DSD vendors will keep delivering after a sloppy close only if someone is paying them. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Owned real estate is a second asset. Recast the store on market rent, then cap the building. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
Tax clearance belongs in escrow language, not in a handshake.
A rural box can be a good living and a terrible loan. Those are different questions. See also lease diligence, liquor transfer, recasting a P&L.
DSCR is annual cash flow over annual debt service. Hope is not a ratio. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Comparing offers means cash at close, note terms, inventory treatment, and license risk — not the headline price. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Multi-store sales need a shared recast and a shared license calendar, or they unravel store by store. See also turns, DSD, wholesaler, asset sale.
Read DSCR, seller note, tax clearance, bulk sales. Cross-check how a sale works and the FAQ. Format pages live under sell an independent supermarket and buy an independent supermarket. Tools: valuation calculator, cash-to-close, rent checker.
The LOI should say how inventory is counted and how licenses are conditioned. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Scan data is the adult conversation. A weekly-sales spreadsheet without department mix is a rumor. See also lease diligence, liquor transfer, recasting a P&L.
Banner fees and program charges belong in the recast as continuing costs if the buyer will keep the fascia.
WIC is a vendor file, not a sticker on the door. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
Add-backs that repeat every year are the business. Stop calling them one-time. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Food-desert rhetoric does not replace a P&L. See also turns, DSD, wholesaler, asset sale.
Working capital is the cash to buy the next load, not a vibe.
Attorneys and CPAs who have never closed a grocery file will rediscover SNAP in week six. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
Recast before you argue a multiple. Owner pay, one-time legal, and personal autos can move SDE; recurring shrink cannot. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Wholesaler over-advances are debt. They are not a cute add-back. See also SDE, inventory at cost, shrink, SNAP authorization.
SNAP authorization does not transfer. Budget downtime in cash and in the story you tell the landlord. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
Unreported cash does not survive SBA. It also does not survive a serious conventional buyer.
Ethnic mix without language on the floor is a shrink plan. See also lease diligence, liquor transfer, recasting a P&L.
Seller notes often sit on standby behind SBA. Read the standby, not the folklore. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
A CIM that omits the lease abstract is a brochure. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
Selling to family or a manager still needs a real price and a real note. Soft language creates hard lawsuits.
DSD vendors will keep delivering after a sloppy close only if someone is paying them. See also turns, DSD, wholesaler, asset sale.
Owned real estate is a second asset. Recast the store on market rent, then cap the building. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.