Business owners, prospective buyers, and industry investors rely on a diverse set of financial benchmarks to assess the value of a business. We have compiled data from current BizBuySell listings and sold businesses to provide insight into the business for sale market and important benchmarks for pricing and evaluating coffee shops and cafe businesses relative to industry standards.
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Coffee shops & cafes listed and sold on BizBuySell are comprised primarily of small, locally owned businesses offering varying types of coffee, tea, and related drinks. Most of these businesses are independently owned brands, but franchises are also routinely sold and included in this report. Cafes with attached bakeries or simple food menus are also included.
| Sold Listings Analyzed | Median Days on Market |
| 887 | 149 |
| Median Sale Price | Median Asking Price |
| $140,000 | $155,000 |
| Median Revenue | Median Owner Earnings |
| $360,000 | $75,000 |
| Average Revenue Multiple | Average Earnings Multiple |
| 0.45 | 2.17 |
The median value of coffee shop businesses sold fell during the pandemic, and many of these businesses had to close their doors. In the years since the height of the pandemic, average values of surviving coffee shops rose 50% from around $100,000 to $150,000.
Valuation, or pricing, multiples are financial tools that allow for comparisons between businesses that have different levels of revenue and earnings. They represent the sales price of a business relative to its size and financial performance, and given enough individual business sales data, they represent what the market is willing to pay for a business, given its revenue and earnings.
Business values and associated multiples fluctuate over time, influenced by a variety of macroeconomic factors, such as interest rates, inflation, consumer spending, and overall economic growth. Coffee shop and cafe valuation multiples were relatively consistent, even during the height of the pandemic. However, in 2023 and through 2024, multiples for those coffee shops that survived the pandemic increased around 15%, driven by steady acquisition prices despite slowing earnings.
To determine how a business compares in terms of sales volume and financial performance relative to industry peers, it’s necessary to have some insight into industry standards. "Benchmarking" describes the practice of comparing a business’s financial performance to typical industry standards to determine where a business falls relative to other businesses in the same industry. These benchmarks can help guide owners and investors towards appropriate valuation multiples from the range above.
To that end, we have aggregated coffee shop business financial ranges useful for comparing a given cafe business to the broader for sale market.
Revenue of coffee shops sold on BizBuySell has been stagnant with some variability year to year. Over the five-year period from 2020 through 2024, median revenue has decreased 9%, while coffee shop owner discretionary earnings increased 10%. The slowdown in sales and increase in profit margins is likely attributable to inflation, with coffee retailers increasing prices at a greater rate than their cost of goods.
For a more complete understanding of the market and valuation standards, consider comparisons within the broader food service sector when benchmarking coffee shop and cafe businesses. The chart and table below includes key metrics from sales of food service businesses on BizBuySell.
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