Buying a gas station or convenience store in Space Coast and Volusia

• Strong inside sales compared with fuel, including food or coffee that brings people in on its own.
• A corner with easy access on a road people use every day, near homes, work sites or a highway exit.
• Tanks, lines and pumps in good condition, with clean inspection records from DEP and FDACS.
• A supply agreement you can live with: a reasonable remaining term, volume minimums you can hit, and no big payback if it ends.
• Register records that split sales by category and match supplier invoices and tax returns.
• A manager and core staff who have stayed for years and can run the store when you're not there.
• Pumps with current card readers and the required anti-skimming protection.

• Environmental condition. Get a Phase I environmental site assessment (a review of the site's records and history), with testing if it flags risk, plus DEP inspection reports, tank ages, leak detection records and any spill reports.
• The supply agreement. Can you take it over, what volumes does it require, and what would leaving early cost?
• Security rules. Stores selling alcohol or tobacco that open any time from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. generally need cameras, a drop safe, a silent alarm, a lit lot and clear windows (sections 812.171 and 812.173).
• Generator wiring. Stations built or substantially renovated since July 2006, and larger ones near an interstate or evacuation route, must be prewired for a generator (section 526.143).
• The seller's unpaid taxes. Buying more than half of a business or its assets can make you liable for the seller's unpaid state taxes, up to the greater of the price or the business's value (section 213.758). Get a Department of Revenue certificate of compliance before closing, and ask your attorney about also holding back part of the price.

• How much of your profit comes from fuel, and how much from inside the store?
• How old are the tanks and lines, and has the site ever had a reported leak or cleanup?
• What does your fuel supply agreement require, and how long does it have left?
• What's selling more inside, and what's selling less?
• How did the store do in the last hurricane, and does it have a generator hookup?
• Who works overnight, and how long have your main people been with you?
• Have you had any problems with skimmers, robberies or sales to minors?

This region covers Brevard, Volusia and Flagler counties: Melbourne, Palm Bay, Titusville, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island, Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Ormond Beach, DeLand, Deltona, New Smyrna Beach and Palm Coast. Brevard's economy is built around space. Rockets launch often from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and aerospace and defense manufacturers and their suppliers employ engineers, technicians and machinists across the county. Port Canaveral is a major cruise port.

Volusia depends more on tourism, beaches and big events, with Daytona's motorsports and motorcycle rallies drawing crowds. Health care and a large retired population matter too. Flagler County, around Palm Coast, is mostly residential. Machine shops, electrical and engineering firms, home service companies, marine businesses and restaurants all have a place here.

Brevard's fortunes follow the space and defense programs. A company that sells to aerospace firms should be able to show you how many customers it depends on and how secure their work is. Business in Volusia spikes around big events and the winter season, so look at revenue by month.

The whole coast faces storm risk. In 2022, Hurricane Ian brought flooding to much of Volusia, and Hurricane Nicole, which came ashore near Vero Beach six weeks later, washed away beaches and seawalls along the Volusia coast. Beachfront property needs careful insurance and structural checks. The Indian River Lagoon and the St. Johns River make boating and fishing part of daily life, which keeps the marine trades busy. Palm Coast and the Palm Bay area have added many new homes, and companies serving those areas have grown with them.