I’m just thinking outloud here, but what if you told your parents that you have been thinking about your need to build a nestegg for retirement, and you have considered maybe opening a new pizza place in a nearby town. Owning your own business would provide for some ultimate retirement security, and you would like to ask for their input into your thinking about it. Their thought process might possibly stimulate their thought process about maybe solving your situation by selling their place to you…and possibly even continuing on as employees, or just retiring themselves with a guaranteed monthly income flowing to them from your purchase payments. At least the conversation might lead to THEM bringing up the subject of what they might want to ultimately do with the business.
Another possibility might be to ask them to consider adding you as a partner, and then include a buy/sell clause in the partnership agreement, with a “key person” insurance policy (term life) purchased to provide for the buyout in the event of the death of a partner. The business could even pay the premiums for the insurance policy.
But whatever you do, try to be sensitive to the fact that they have nursed this business from infancy, and it has provided them with both a living and a sense of pride. It may not be the best business in the world, but it’s theirs. Sorry for the preaching. Good luck.
