You’re paying for equipment, recipes, and rights to the lease and name. Good will is a lousy thing to buy or sell. If your sales drop off 30% after taking over, can you sue the previous owner for reneging on the contract because the sales weren’t at the same level?
The utilities do seem high, but what is the breakdown of utility costs? If it’s mostly gas, that’s a decent explanation, and possibly can be dealt with by changing equipment–namely ovens. If electricity is half the utilities, something is up. Check maintenance records on the coolers, etc, as well as the oven.
What if food cost is more like 33%?
What possibility exists for adding to the customer base? Is it a rural area, small city, major metro? Business oriented area, residential, mixed? What kind of advertising has been done in the past?