How to Sell a Catering Business in Florida

Short answer: To sell a catering business in Florida, document your booked events and deposits, show where your revenue comes from (venues, corporate accounts, weddings), confirm that your licensed kitchen and its lease can go with the business, and plan for the buyer’s own DBPR food service license, because the license does not transfer. Then market the business confidentially to screened buyers, negotiate a purchase agreement, complete due diligence, and close. Most main street sales take six to twelve months from listing to closing. I’m Ryan C. Winter, Business Broker with Truforte Business Group, based in St. Augustine and working with owners across Florida.

A catering buyer is buying a calendar, a kitchen, and relationships. The more of those that stay in place after you leave, the more the business is worth.

What Buyers Look For in a Catering Business

• Venue relationships. A spot on a venue’s preferred or exclusive caterer list sends steady events your way. Buyers will ask whether those arrangements are in writing and whether they continue under a new owner.
• Corporate and repeat accounts. Office lunches, annual events, and institutional clients smooth out the calendar. Buyers value that kind of recurring revenue more than one-time parties.
• Booked future events. Signed contracts with deposits are revenue the buyer can see before closing.
• Event-level costing. Menu pricing, food cost, and labor tracked per event show that you make money on each job, not just in total.
• Key staff. A chef, event captain, or sales coordinator who will stay is often as important as the kitchen.
• Inspection history. DBPR inspection results are public, and buyers look them up, so resolve recurring issues.

Seasonality is normal in catering, with wedding seasons, holidays, and slow stretches. Buyers expect it. What they want is several years of monthly numbers so they can see the pattern and plan cash flow, and a corporate base that softens the swings.

Florida Licensing When a Catering Business Changes Hands

Caterers in Florida are licensed as public food service establishments by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels and Restaurants, under Chapter 509, Florida Statutes.

The Food Service License Does Not Transfer

Florida law says a public food service license may not be transferred from one place or individual to another (s. 509.241). The division requires new owners of existing establishments to obtain a license before they begin operating, and its caterer guide describes applying as a change of ownership. The DBPR caterer licensing guide explains the current process. Coordinate the timing with closing so events are not interrupted, and confirm the details with the division and your attorney.

The Kitchen Has to Be Licensed

DBPR’s caterer guide says all food storage and preparation must happen in an approved, licensed food service establishment, and not in a private residence. That makes the kitchen central to the sale. If you lease your own kitchen, the lease has to go with the business, which usually means landlord approval. If you prepare food in someone else’s licensed kitchen, the buyer needs to know whether that arrangement will continue for them. Using a space that has never been licensed, or remodeling, triggers plan review.

Alcohol Is Licensed Separately

If you hold your own alcoholic beverage license for catered events, it is handled by DBPR’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, which has its own transfer of ownership process. Many caterers leave alcohol to the venue or a licensed bar service. Either way, treat alcohol as a separate step in the sale plan.

Tax Clearance and Local Receipts

The buyer also needs local business tax receipts. Under s. 213.758, Florida Statutes, a buyer can become liable for a seller’s unpaid state taxes unless the seller provides a certificate of compliance from the Florida Department of Revenue, so buyers usually ask for one. Your CPA can confirm the details.

Booked Events and Deposits at Closing

Caterers collect deposits ahead of events. The buyer will cater the events that fall after closing and pay the food and labor costs, so deposits for those events are usually credited to the buyer at closing. The details are negotiated, and your CPA should review how they affect your proceeds.

Prepare a schedule of every booked event with the date, client, menu or package, contract amount, deposit paid, and balance due. Review your client contracts too, since some may need the client’s consent to assign.

Preparing Your Catering Business for Sale

1. Break revenue out by channel: weddings, corporate, venue partners, drop-off, and holiday events.
2. Put venue arrangements in writing where you can, and note which ones need the venue’s consent to continue.
3. Build the booked-events schedule with deposits and balances.
4. Document recipes, menus, pricing sheets, vendor lists, and event checklists so the business runs without you.
5. List equipment and vehicles with their condition: ovens, warming cabinets, serving equipment, and vans.
6. Review your kitchen lease for assignment terms and remaining term.
7. Confirm licenses are current and resolve open inspection issues.

Who Buys Catering Businesses

• Chefs and restaurant owners adding catering or stepping away from a dining room. My guide on how to sell a restaurant in Florida covers the overlap.
• Venue owners and hospitality groups that want in-house catering.
• Existing caterers expanding into a new market.
• First-time buyers with hospitality or food service management experience.

Many buyers use SBA 7(a) loans, which commonly finance business acquisitions. The lender has its own requirements and will review the kitchen lease and licensing plan along with the financials.

How the Sale Works, Step by Step

1. Confidential valuation based on your financials, accounts, and booked events.
2. Preparation of records, the event schedule, and the kitchen lease review.
3. Confidential marketing with a blind listing and a signed non-disclosure agreement before a buyer learns your name.
4. Buyer meetings and a kitchen tour, scheduled around your events.
5. Purchase agreement with contingencies. I usually go straight to a purchase agreement rather than a letter of intent.
6. Due diligence on financials, contracts, licenses, and equipment.
7. Licensing and approvals: the buyer’s DBPR food service license, any beverage license, and the landlord’s consent.
8. Closing and transition, including introductions to venues, key accounts, and staff.

For the broader process, see my guide on how to sell a business in Florida.

Related guides: selling a liquor store, selling a gas station or convenience store, and selling a retail business in Florida.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does My Catering License Transfer to the Buyer?

No. Florida law says a public food service license may not be transferred from one place or individual to another, so the buyer obtains its own license from DBPR’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants before operating. Coordinate the timing with closing and confirm the current process with the division.

Can I Sell a Catering Business Without Its Own Kitchen?

Yes, but the buyer still needs a licensed kitchen, because DBPR requires caterers to store and prepare food in an approved, licensed establishment. If you use a shared or rented kitchen, the buyer will want assurance they can keep using it or a plan to move. Without that, buyers see mainly a client list and a brand.

Who Gets the Deposits for Future Events?

Usually the buyer receives a credit at closing for deposits on events it will cater after closing, because it does the work and pays the costs. The details are negotiated, and your CPA should review them.

Will Venues Keep the New Owner on Their Preferred List?

Not automatically. A venue chooses its caterers, and a new owner has to earn that trust. Written agreements help, and introducing the buyer to venue managers during the transition is one of the most valuable things a seller can do.

How Long Does It Take to Sell a Catering Business?

Most main street sales take six to twelve months from listing to closing. Plan early for the buyer’s food service license and the kitchen lease, since both need to be in place at closing.

To find out what your catering business could sell for, request a free, confidential business valuation or call me at (904) 789-1276.

• Category: Selling a Business, St. Augustine