A food truck in Gurnee is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Waukegan — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide food trucks playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Gurnee file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Gurnee market
Selling a food truck in Gurnee
A food truck in Gurnee is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Waukegan — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide food trucks playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Gurnee file.
Gurnee is the Lake County tourism interchange: Gurnee Mills, Six Flags Great America, and I-94 outlets — visitor traffic on top of a residential village.
Outlet and theme-park seasonality belongs in the recast. Franchise and mall landlords control more leases here than in Libertyville’s downtown. Great Lakes Naval Station is nearby payroll, not this village’s identity. A household HVAC book and a Mills-adjacent restaurant are two sales.
Gurnee has about 31,295 residents in Lake County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Waukegan is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
1.5x–2.5x SDE
Typical timeline
3–8 months
SBA eligible
Usually conventional
County
Lake County
Population
31,295
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry, Kendall, and neighboring collar shops sell on household density and the I-88, I-90, I-94, and I-55 corridors.
There is no Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Buyers still compare this suburb to the next one on the same highway.
Gurnee demand for food trucks is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 31,295 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Food Truck in Gurnee
What a Gurnee buyer will underwrite on this food truck
Food and liquor in Gurnee close on the lease and the local board as often as they close on prime cost. Lake County health and — if the room pours — local-control liquor are Gurnee clocks, not a statewide multiple. Neighbors already compare this room to Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake.
Food Trucks statewide typically plan around 1.5x–2.5x SDE and a 3–8 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Gurnee shop. Buyers here usually argue route/event contracts, vehicle condition, equipment, social media following.
Closing clock for this Gurnee file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: Chicago Mobile Food Vendor licenses (and the associated commissary and parking rules) are famously specific and do not automatically transfer with the truck title. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Gurnee application of it.
In a suburb like Gurnee, first-time entrepreneurs, chefs, restaurateurs are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Waukegan is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a food truck in Gurnee
Split buyer pool: North Shore and Libertyville businesses attract SBA and strategics who want household income; Waukegan and industrial I-94 businesses attract operator and logistics buyers. Great Lakes Naval Station and tourism along the lake change seasonality for some retail and hospitality books.
Illustration: a single permitted truck working the West Loop and a suburban office park two days a week, commissary in a shared kitchen, seller cooking every service. Not a closed sale.
A food truck whose customers already sit in Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake is a larger business than one that stops at the Gurnee city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Gurnee food truck
Food-truck recasts on repeat vending locations and contracted office parks, not a festival weekend. Add back owner-cook hours, then pull event-only spikes and any second truck that sat. Vehicle capex and commissary rent are not optional. A 1.5x–2.5x SDE band is planning language for a thin, operator-dependent asset — not a restaurant multiple.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Gurnee shop. A food truck whose tax return shows $39,000 of net profit is not worth $39,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $30,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $18,000 of discretionary benefits, $3,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $12,000 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $17,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $85,000. At the planning range 1.5x–2.5x, enterprise value is $127,500 to $212,500. Mid-range 2.00x is $170,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Gurnee buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 2.00 times $85,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $170,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Gurnee food truck — not a quote
Net profit
$39,000
Owner W-2
$30,000
Benefits
$18,000
One-time
$3,500
Personal
$12,000
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$17,000
Recast SDE
$85,000
Planning EV at 2.00x
$170,000
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for food trucks.
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.
$
1x3.0x8x
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.
Lake County closings use state CBS-1 plus municipal licenses (Waukegan, Gurnee, Libertyville, and North Shore villages each differ). No Chicago 45-day notice unless you also have a Chicago location. Lake County health and contractor registrations are common diligence items for food and trades.
Chicago Mobile Food Vendor licenses (and the associated commissary and parking rules) are famously specific and do not automatically transfer with the truck title. Suburban and downstate towns each issue their own mobile-food permits. County health stickers sit on the truck and the commissary agreement. The truck title, fire suppression, and propane certifications are part of the license stack.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Gurnee
For a food truck in Gurnee, the first labor question is: Contracted weekday slots, not festival luck.
I-94 is the spine. Route density is real between Buffalo Grove and Gurnee and thinner toward the Wisconsin line. Leases in outlet and tourism corridors can be franchise- or landlord-controlled. Winter lake-effect operations matter for home services.
Lake mixes Fortune-campus remnants, naval payroll, and bedroom suburbs. Do not price a Waukegan industrial book like a Libertyville professional practice.
Diligence
What a serious food truck buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Contracted weekday slots, not festival luck; A transferable Chicago or municipal mobile license; Truck mechanical and suppression condition; Commissary that a buyer can keep; A concept that is not only the seller’s personality.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Gurnee business: Title, mileage, hood suppression, generator, and propane file; Commissary contract assignability and health stickers; Chicago or municipal mobile-food license transfer path; Standing office-park or brewery slots versus festival-only income; Social following that is the seller’s face versus the concept; Whether a second permitted truck is real capacity or a parts donor.
Sale steps
How to prepare a Gurnee food truck for sale
Recast this Gurnee food truck. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Gurnee buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this food truck pull a permit or see a patient in Gurnee, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Gurnee 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 Gurnee limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Lake County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois food trucks hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Gurnee file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Lake County, including local closing steps.
Buyers start with seller’s discretionary earnings, then apply a planning range around 1.5x–3x SDE. That is a statewide starting point, not an appraisal. The lease, licenses, and how much of the book depends on the owner move the number more than a rumor multiple.
Most prepared Main Street sales take about six to twelve months. Clean books and an assignable lease help. License transfers and landlord consent are what add weeks.
Commissary agreements, city vending permits, and health licenses are local. They do not ride with the VIN. A Chicago truck and a downstate fair route are different permit desks.
Only part of it. Buyers pay for permits, the commissary, and repeat stops. A titled truck with no transferable spots is an asset sale, not a going-concern multiple.
Yes. Buyers sign a non-disclosure agreement before they see the name. Your staff should not learn the sale from a listing photo. Key people may hear near a signed letter of intent.
Most Gurnee asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Lake County does not use Chicago’s 45-day city notice unless the business also operates there. Municipal licenses and the lease still need their own calendar.
Buyers in Gurnee are often SBA owner-operators and neighboring operators along the same corridor. Larger recurring books can draw a platform. They will compare this suburb to the next town in Lake County.
No. The planning multiple for food trucks is a statewide starting point, not a Gurnee appraisal. Buyers in Lake County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Food Truck Brokerage Near Gurnee
We serve food trucks owners and buyers across Lake County and the surrounding region.