Buying a gas station or convenience store in Treasure Coast
Treasure Coast has 42 established gas stations and convenience stores by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 69% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.
What it takes to own one
Gas stations and convenience stores in Treasure Coast come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.
- Earns about
- $72,000 a year
- Price about
- $170,000
- Your cash
- $24,000
- Could pay you
- up to $42,000 a year
- Earns about
- $136,000 a year
- Price about
- $321,000
- Your cash
- $45,000
- Could pay you
- up to $79,000 a year
- Earns about
- $267,000 a year
- Price about
- $628,000
- Your cash
- $88,000
- Could pay you
- up to $154,000 a year
Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 2.4 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.
Age, size and location
Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.
| In business | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under 20 years | 13 |
| 20 to 29 years | 22 |
| 30 to 39 years | 6 |
| 40 years or more | 1 |
| Estimated yearly revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under $1M | 12 |
| $1M to $2M | 3 |
| $2M to $4M | 4 |
| $4M to $8M | 1 |
| County | Companies |
|---|---|
| St. Lucie | 14 |
| Martin | 11 |
| Indian River | 7 |
| Highlands | 6 |
| Other counties | 4 |
| Town | Companies |
|---|---|
| Fort Pierce | 5 |
| Stuart | 5 |
What the best gas stations and convenience stores have in common
- 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.
What to check before you buy
- 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.
Questions to ask the owner
- 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?
To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a gas station or convenience store in Florida.
Owning a company in Treasure Coast
The local economy
This region covers Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties on the Atlantic coast and Okeechobee and Highlands counties inland: Stuart, Palm City, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Sebastian, Okeechobee, Sebring and Avon Park. Port St. Lucie is the largest city and has grown quickly as a suburb within reach of Palm Beach County to the south.
The coast draws retirees and winter residents, and health care, construction, real estate, boating and sport fishing are big parts of the economy. The coast lies in the Indian River citrus district, named for the lagoon. Inland, Okeechobee and Highlands are cattle, dairy and citrus country around Lake Okeechobee and along the ridge near Sebring, with many retirees of their own. Home service companies, the building trades, marine businesses and medical practices find steady customers here.
What's different about owning a company here
The coast is seasonal, with winter residents filling restaurants, golf courses and service schedules, and summer is quieter. Hurricane Nicole came ashore near Vero Beach in November 2022, and the region has a long history of storms, so check insurance, flood zones and how a business came through recent ones.
Water quality in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon is a recurring problem, and in a bad year it can hurt fishing, boating and tourism businesses. Inland, distances are longer and the labor pool thinner. A company in Sebring or Okeechobee may be one of very few of its kind nearby, which can mean loyal customers and little competition, but also few people to hire. Most new homes on the coast are going up in and around Port St. Lucie.