You need a mentor for this project consideration. Kameron may be the answer, if he is willing to give of his time. And he sounds like someone who could provide valuable guidance. Alternatively, maybe you know a restaurant owner/operator in a nearby township, with a liquor or beer license, who you respect, that might be willing to sit down with you to review the variables.
The question that I think you can answer now is the $40,000 price…just itemize and compare with “used” stuff available. In most cases, the offered price is negotiable…my advice is to negotiate. The worst that can happen is that they say “nope”, while the best is that the money stays in your pocket. They should also be willing to take a partial bath on the equipment valuation in order to secure a viable tenant. You also have a sense for how your product is perceived in the market…if they love ya without seating and a cold one to wash everything down, they will love ya all the more with a comfortable setting and service that is first rate. And the fact that it’s the only place around where someone can have a beer with pizza, makes it all the better.
If your “mentor” is willing, be sure to include a “pro forma breakeven analysis”…this will essentially show you what your gross sales will need to be to break even…if you are then convinced that you can sell more than that, the additional revenue will be reduced only by what they call marginal costs, which means that your additional sales, less your cost of ingredients and any addition to labor that might have been needed to produce those sales, will be pure profit (before taxes, of course).
Another thought. If you move forward with the new sit down place, will some of your sit down customers be customers who formerly ordered delivery. And if they are, how would that tradeoff effect your bottom line (will they buy more in the restaurant than they did when they got delivery, and will that translate into more, or less, profit). Also, remember that most states permit hourly rates paid to those who collect tips to be much lower than minimum wage law requirements (this might be helpful in performing your breakeven analysis).
Good luck.
