Free Consultation
Jacksonville, Morgan County

Jacksonville Liquor Store for Sale

A liquor store in Jacksonville is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Springfield — 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 liquor stores playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Jacksonville file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.

Get a Free Business Valuation How It Works

Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide

Jacksonville market

Selling a liquor store in Jacksonville

A liquor store in Jacksonville is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Springfield — 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 liquor stores playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Jacksonville file.

Jacksonville is Morgan County’s seat on I-72 — Illinois College, hospital and institutional employers, and a western Illinois civic city, not Springfield and not Quincy.

College, hospital, and (historically) institutional vendor contracts may not assign; campus-facing books have an academic year. Farm-service is the other economy, and Springfield and Quincy-corridor operators buy here. MacMurray’s closure is a reminder to underwrite today’s enrollment and employers, not yesterday’s.

Jacksonville has about 18,940 residents in Morgan County, inside the Jacksonville area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Springfield, Beardstown, Carlinville. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Springfield is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.

Planning facts

Typical multiple
2x–3x SDE
Typical timeline
5–10 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Morgan County
Population
18,940
Metro
Jacksonville
Nearby comps
Springfield, Beardstown, Carlinville
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
Schedule Free Consultation
Morgan County demand

Western Illinois demand

Peoria, Quincy, Galesburg, and river-industrial towns underwrite customer concentration (OEM, hospital, campus) before anyone argues a multiple.

The first call is usually an operator on I-74 or the river, not a coastal fund.

Jacksonville demand for liquor stores is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 18,940 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.

Liquor Store in Jacksonville

What a Jacksonville buyer will underwrite on this liquor store

Retail in Jacksonville is lease, parking, and any local-control license — not a holiday week. Buyers already compare this corner to Springfield, Beardstown, Carlinville. Inventory must be salable goods.

Liquor Stores statewide typically plan around 2x–3x SDE and a 5–10 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Jacksonville shop. Buyers here usually argue license transferability, location foot traffic, lease terms, inventory value, lottery revenue.

Closing clock for this Jacksonville file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: Illinois is local-control liquor. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Jacksonville application of it.

Jacksonville is a regional market. The first serious call is often an owner-operator from Springfield, Beardstown, Carlinville, not a platform that needs $2 million of earnings to pay for diligence. SBA 7(a) and seller financing usually matter more here than a headline multiple.

Buyer pool

Who buys a liquor store in Jacksonville

Springfield and Quincy-corridor operators.

Illustration: a packaged-goods store in a home-rule suburb west of Chicago with a transferable-looking municipal license, a mid-size allocation book, and lottery at the counter. Not a closed sale.

A liquor store whose customers already sit in Springfield, Beardstown, Carlinville is a larger business than one that stops at the Jacksonville city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.

SDE recast

How a buyer will read the books on this Jacksonville liquor store

Package-liquor recasts on store-level gross after distributor allocations, not a holiday-week spike. Add back owner compensation, then treat lottery and tobacco as separate, thinner lines. Inventory must be recast to salable vintage and unallocated SKUs — dusty allocated bottles are not automatically cash. Illinois pricing and distributor franchise realities limit “we will just buy better.”

Illustration only — not a quote for any Jacksonville shop. A liquor store whose tax return shows $100,000 of net profit is not worth $100,000 × a rumor multiple.

Add back the owner’s $50,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $17,000 of discretionary benefits, $2,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $7,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $22,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.

Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $155,000. At the planning range 2.0x–3.0x, enterprise value is $310,000 to $465,000. Mid-range 2.50x is $387,500 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Jacksonville buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.

At 2.50 times $155,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $387,500 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 Jacksonville liquor store — not a quote
Net profit$100,000
Owner W-2$50,000
Benefits$17,000
One-time$2,500
Personal$7,500
Replacement labor (subtract)−$22,000
Recast SDE$155,000
Planning EV at 2.50x$387,500

Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for liquor stores. 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.

Get a Professional Valuation
Morgan County closing

Licenses and closing steps for a Jacksonville sale

Morgan (Jacksonville) uses state CBS-1. Institutional (college, prison, hospital) vendor contracts may not assign.

Illinois is local-control liquor. The municipal license is the scarce asset; the Illinois Liquor Control Commission state license is necessary but not sufficient. Chicago and many suburbs cap licenses or run a hearing. Licenses do not automatically transfer with the stock. A buyer who cannot get local approval does not have a store.

Labor and lease

What has to keep working on Monday after close in Jacksonville

For a liquor store in Jacksonville, the first labor question is: A municipal license path the buyer can actually finish.

Illinois College and healthcare support professional services. Farm-service is the other book.

I-72 west of Springfield. Two demand stories: campus/hospital and agriculture.

Diligence

What a serious liquor store buyer will open

Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: A municipal license path the buyer can actually finish; Allocation relationships that survive the seller; Inventory that is salable, not museum; Parking and lease term; Clean local-control and sales-tax file.

Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Jacksonville business: Municipal liquor-license class, quota, and transfer or hearing path; Distributor allocations and any personal relationships that will not assign; Inventory mix, age, and true wholesale value; Lottery and tobacco as a share of profit versus noise; Lease assignment and parking — package stores die on parking; Theft, ID-check discipline, and any local-control violations.

Buyer tool

SBA payment sketch for a Jacksonville liquor store 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.

$
%
%
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 Jacksonville liquor store for sale

  1. Recast this Jacksonville liquor store. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Jacksonville 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 liquor store pull a permit or see a patient in Jacksonville, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
  3. Tell the truth about the Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville limit.
  4. Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Morgan County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
  5. 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.
  6. Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois liquor stores hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Jacksonville file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Continue

Related Jacksonville and liquor stores pages

Questions

Questions about liquor stores in Jacksonville

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

Service Area

Liquor Store Brokerage Near Jacksonville

We serve liquor stores owners and buyers across Morgan County and the surrounding region.

SpringfieldLiquor Stores→BeardstownLiquor Stores→CarlinvilleLiquor Stores→
View All Illinois Liquor Stores Listings →

Talk through your Jacksonville liquor store

Confidential consult. We will walk the books, Morgan County closing notices, licenses, and the lease — then give you a planning range, not a slogan.

Schedule a Confidential Consultation Learn How It Works

No upfront fees • Completely confidential • Free valuation