Buying a restaurant in Orlando and Central Florida

• Sales that hold up through the year, or a slow season the owner plans for if the place leans on tourists and winter residents.
• Food and labor costs tracked weekly, not just totaled on the year-end tax return.
• A kitchen that runs without the owner: a chef or kitchen manager who intends to stay, and recipes written down.
• A lease with years left and renewal options, rent that leaves room for profit, and a landlord willing to assign it to you.
• A clean inspection history with the state.
• Regulars and local word of mouth, rather than heavy dependence on delivery apps.
• Equipment that has been maintained: hood and fire suppression, walk-in cooler, ice and dish machines.
• The right alcohol license for the concept, in good standing.

• Reported sales. Match point-of-sale reports to the sales tax returns, month by month. Sales the owner says never reached the books won't count for a lender, and shouldn't for you.
• The seller's 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 price or the value, whichever is greater (section 213.758). Get a certificate of compliance from the Department of Revenue before closing.
• Labor at today's rates. Under a 2020 constitutional amendment, Florida's minimum wage reached $15 an hour on September 30, 2026, and it will rise with inflation after that. The tipped wage moves with it. Rebuild payroll at current rates, not last year's totals.
• Equipment. Have a restaurant equipment technician look at the hood, refrigeration and air conditioning. Replacements are expensive.
• Inspection history. Read several years of DBPR's online inspection results.
• The lease. Remaining term, whether it can be assigned to you, personal guarantees, and who pays for the roof, grease trap and hood repairs.
• Storms. How long the place closed after recent hurricanes, and what business interruption insurance paid.

• What does a slow Tuesday look like next to a busy Saturday, and how has that changed in the last couple of years?
• Who runs the kitchen when you're not there, and do you think they'd stay on with a new owner?
• How much of your business comes from regulars, catering or delivery apps?
• How long is left on the lease, and how do you think the landlord will feel about a sale?
• When did you last replace big equipment like the hood, the walk-in or the dish machine, and what's due next?
• Do you track food and labor costs each week? Could I see a few months of those reports?
• If you were staying, what would you change about the menu or the hours?

This region covers Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Sumter and Marion counties: Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Sanford, Clermont, Leesburg, Ocala and the large retirement communities of Sumter and Lake counties. Tourism is what the area is best known for, built on the theme parks, the hotels, the vacation rental homes around Kissimmee and the Orange County Convention Center. It's far from the only business. The University of Central Florida and the military simulation and training offices near it support a technology base, and health care is a major employer.

Marion County is horse country, with thoroughbred farms around Ocala, and it has added warehouses and distribution centers along Interstate 75. Retirees in Sumter and Lake create steady demand for medical practices, home care, home maintenance and auto services. The building trades, restaurants, and companies that serve hotels and rental homes do well across the region.

Central Florida is inland, so storm surge isn't the worry it is on the coasts. Hurricanes still bring wind damage and flooding, though: Hurricane Ian flooded neighborhoods in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties in 2022. Ask whether the business or its customers were affected.

Tourism keeps demand steadier through the year than in markets that depend on winter residents, with busy stretches around school holidays. Hotels, parks and restaurants compete hard for workers, which pushes up wages for any company that hires hourly staff. New homes have spread fast in Osceola, south Lake and southeast Orange counties and around Ocala, so check whether a company's customers are in growing areas or older ones. Traffic on Interstate 4 limits how much ground a service company can cover in a day.