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Evanston, Cook County

Barbershop for Sale in Evanston

A barbershop in Evanston is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Chicago — not on a statewide rumor multiple. CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. The statewide barbershops playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Evanston file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.

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Evanston market

Selling a barbershop in Evanston

A barbershop in Evanston is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Chicago — not on a statewide rumor multiple. CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. The statewide barbershops playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Evanston file.

Evanston is the North Shore college city on the lake: Northwestern University, a downtown on Sherman and Church, and CTA/Metra density that Skokie and Wilmette do not replicate.

Campus and lakefront leases, student-year seasonality, and Northwestern-adjacent professional demand define the business. A Dempster or Central Street neighborhood shop is not a downtown restaurant. Buyers who want “North Shore” still have to underwrite university-town liquor and landlord politics — this is not Old Orchard retail.

Evanston has about 74,486 residents in Cook County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Chicago, Skokie, Niles, Glenview. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Chicago is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.

Planning facts

Typical multiple
2x–3x SDE
Typical timeline
4–9 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Cook County
Population
74,486
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Chicago, Skokie, Niles, Glenview
Closing clock
CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city
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Cook County demand

Chicago-core demand and closing clocks

Cook County and the City of Chicago add 45-day bulk-sale notices on top of Illinois Form CBS-1 (10 business days). That calendar is longer than most downstate businesses.

Buyer density is the highest in Illinois. Confidential outreach matters more here than a public ad on a recognizable storefront.

Evanston demand for barbershops is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 74,486 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.

Barbershop in Evanston

What a Evanston buyer will underwrite on this barbershop

Personal-service licenses are personal. A barbershop in Evanston sells the chairs and the walk-in book that is not one stylist’s following. Neighbors in Chicago, Skokie, Niles are the comparison set, not a statewide salon multiple.

Barbershops statewide typically plan around 2x–3x SDE and a 4–9 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Evanston shop. Buyers here usually argue chair count, barber retention, walk-in vs appointment mix, lease terms.

Closing clock for this Evanston file: CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. License path: IDFPR licenses barbers and barber shops separately from cosmetology. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Evanston application of it.

In a suburb like Evanston, barbers, owner-operators, franchise seekers are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Chicago is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.

Buyer pool

Who buys a barbershop in Evanston

Cook has the deepest Illinois buyer pool: SBA owner-operators, PE home-services and healthcare platforms, and strategics who already have a Chicago route. Density is an asset and a leak risk. Employees and landlords hear rumors faster here than in a downstate county. Confidential outreach is the default, not a listing-site photo of a recognizable storefront.

Illustration: a five-chair barbershop in Wicker Park with three employed barbers, a seller on the window chair, and a walk-in-heavy Saturday. Not a closed sale.

A barbershop whose customers already sit in Chicago, Skokie, Niles, Glenview is a larger business than one that stops at the Evanston city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.

SDE recast

How a buyer will read the books on this Evanston barbershop

Barbershop recasts on chair economics and walk-in versus appointment mix, not a fade-contest Saturday. Add back owner-barber hours, then isolate booth-rent chairs that are already independent businesses. A 2x–3x SDE band assumes the shop name, the lease, and at least one staying barber — not only the owner’s Saturday book.

Illustration only — not a quote for any Evanston shop. A barbershop whose tax return shows $108,000 of net profit is not worth $108,000 × a rumor multiple.

Add back the owner’s $24,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $27,000 of discretionary benefits, $2,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $6,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $93,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.

Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $75,000. At the planning range 2.0x–3.0x, enterprise value is $150,000 to $225,000. Mid-range 2.50x is $187,500 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Evanston buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.

At 2.50 times $75,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $187,500 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.

SDE line items

  1. Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
  2. + Interest expense
  3. + Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
  4. + Depreciation and amortization
  5. + Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
  6. + Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
  7. + Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
  8. − Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
  9. = Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Evanston barbershop — not a quote
Net profit$108,000
Owner W-2$24,000
Benefits$27,000
One-time$2,500
Personal$6,500
Replacement labor (subtract)−$93,000
Recast SDE$75,000
Planning EV at 2.50x$187,500

Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for barbershops. Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.

Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—

Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.

Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.

$
1x 3.0x 8x
Estimated Value Range — to —

This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.

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Cook County closing

Licenses and closing steps for a Evanston sale

Cook County adds a local bulk-sale notice on top of Illinois Form CBS-1. File the Cook County notice at least 45 days before transfer with the sales contract (revenuecompliance@cookcountyil.gov). City of Chicago businesses also file a Chicago Department of Finance bulk-sales notice at least 45 days out under Municipal Code 3-4-140, covering city taxes and Title 4 licenses. State CBS-1 is still due at least 10 business days before closing. Miss a local clock and the buyer can inherit tax or license debt.

IDFPR licenses barbers and barber shops separately from cosmetology. A cosmetology establishment license is not a barber-shop license. Individual barber licenses do not transfer. The shop license must be in the buyer’s name. Booth-rent classification is a workers-comp and IDFPR compliance issue, not a vibe.

Labor and lease

What has to keep working on Monday after close in Evanston

For a barbershop in Evanston, the first labor question is: Staying licensed barbers and a shop-branded book.

Leases are the deal killer more often than the multiple. Loop, River North, and neighborhood retail have assignment clauses, kick-out rights, and renewal politics that collar-county industrial shops rarely see. CTA-adjacent and parking-constrained sites change buyer type. Labor is union-aware in several trades and hospitality crews turn over faster than downstate.

Cook is not one market. A bungalow-belt repair shop, a South Side contractor, and a Near North concept do not share a “Chicago premium.” O’Hare, the lakefront, and the expressway grid concentrate customers and also concentrate competing buyers. Price the business, not the skyline.

Diligence

What a serious barbershop buyer will open

Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Staying licensed barbers and a shop-branded book; Correct IDFPR shop license for the buyer; Lease in a location that still walks in; Owner-chair that is not the entire SDE; A labor model the buyer can run Monday.

Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Evanston business: Chair count, booth-rent vs employee, and who is staying; IDFPR barber-shop license (not a salon license) and individual cards; Walk-in versus booking mix and the owner’s personal chair; Lease, hours, and neighborhood traffic that actually feeds the chairs; Retail and product that is real versus backbar; Review profile tied to the shop versus the owner’s Instagram.

Buyer tool

SBA payment sketch for a Evanston barbershop buyer

Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.

SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.

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%
%
yrs
Down Payment Required —
Loan Amount —
Est. Monthly Payment —

This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.

Sale steps

How to prepare a Evanston barbershop for sale

  1. Recast this Evanston barbershop. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Evanston buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
  2. Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this barbershop pull a permit or see a patient in Evanston, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
  3. Tell the truth about the Evanston trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Evanston limit.
  4. Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Cook County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
  5. Calendar the notices that apply here. CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
  6. Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois barbershops hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Evanston file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
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Questions

Questions about barbershops in Evanston

Answers for owners and buyers in Cook County, including local closing steps.

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Barbershop Brokerage Near Evanston

We serve barbershops owners and buyers across Cook County and the surrounding region.

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