A convenience store in McHenry is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Crystal Lake — 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 convenience stores playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the McHenry file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
McHenry market
Selling a convenience store in McHenry
A convenience store in McHenry is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Crystal Lake — 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 convenience stores playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the McHenry file.
McHenry is a Fox River and Chain O’Lakes city in McHenry County — waterfront recreation plus a working downtown, not Crystal Lake’s larger commercial core.
Boating-season hospitality needs a winter story. Route density thins toward the Wisconsin line. Owner-operators from Crystal Lake and Wisconsin-border towns are more likely than Chicago PE. Seller financing is more common here than on the North Shore.
McHenry has about 26,992 residents in McHenry County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Crystal Lake is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
2x–3.5x SDE
Typical timeline
5–10 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
McHenry County
Population
26,992
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock
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.
McHenry demand for convenience stores is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 26,992 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Convenience Store in McHenry
What a McHenry buyer will underwrite on this convenience store
Retail in McHenry is lease, parking, and any local-control license — not a holiday week. Buyers already compare this corner to Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock. Inventory must be salable goods.
Convenience Stores statewide typically plan around 2x–3.5x SDE and a 5–10 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this McHenry shop. Buyers here usually argue lottery revenue, atm revenue, fuel sales (if applicable), lease terms, inside sales mix.
Closing clock for this McHenry file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: Illinois Lottery retailer contracts, tobacco retailer licenses, food permits, and SNAP authorization are account-by-account — they do not ride automatically with the lease. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the McHenry application of it.
In a suburb like McHenry, owner-operators, regional c-store chains are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Crystal Lake is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a convenience store in McHenry
Owner-operators and neighboring DuPage/Lake strategics. PE is selective — they want enough EBITDA to justify the drive from the city. Seller financing is more common than on the North Shore.
Illustration: a no-fuel neighborhood convenience store in Aurora with lottery, tobacco, and a small food program, owner-worked doubles, and a five-year lease. Not a closed sale.
A convenience store whose customers already sit in Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock is a larger business than one that stops at the McHenry city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this McHenry convenience store
C-store recasts on inside gross profit, not top-line rings that are mostly cigarettes and lottery pass-through. Add back owner hours, then isolate lottery commissions, ATM surcharge, and any fuel if the pumps are a different deal. Inventory shrink and family labor on the register are the usual fiction. A 2x–3.5x SDE band assumes a buyer can staff two shifts without the seller sleeping in the back.
Illustration only — not a quote for any McHenry shop. A convenience store whose tax return shows $60,000 of net profit is not worth $60,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $51,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $13,500 of discretionary benefits, $16,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $15,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $1,000 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–3.5x, enterprise value is $310,000 to $542,500. Mid-range 2.75x is $426,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A McHenry buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 2.75 times $155,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $426,250 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 McHenry convenience store — not a quote
Net profit
$60,000
Owner W-2
$51,000
Benefits
$13,500
One-time
$16,000
Personal
$15,500
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$1,000
Recast SDE
$155,000
Planning EV at 2.75x
$426,250
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for convenience 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.
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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.
McHenry County uses state CBS-1 and municipal licenses in Crystal Lake, McHenry, Woodstock, and Algonquin. Rural and village zoning can restrict contractor yards and outdoor storage. No Chicago/Cook 45-day local bulk sale.
Illinois Lottery retailer contracts, tobacco retailer licenses, food permits, and SNAP authorization are account-by-account — they do not ride automatically with the lease. Packaged liquor, if any, is municipal plus ILCC. A store without fuel still has health-department and tobacco clocks. Chicago and home-rule towns add their own business-license transfers.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in McHenry
For a convenience store in McHenry, the first labor question is: True inside gross after pass-through categories.
Route density drops north and west of Crystal Lake. Winter home-services volume is real; summer landscaping books need snow or other off-season work or buyers will haircut. Huntley and Algonquin lean toward Kane/Cook overflow.
Northwest exurb: growing rooftops, still a farm-and-lake county in the western townships. Do not assume Chicagoland PE interest on a two-truck shop.
Diligence
What a serious convenience store buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: True inside gross after pass-through categories; License and lottery accounts a buyer can keep; Lease term versus hours that require the seller; Foodservice or other high-margin mix; Location that is not dependent on one factory shift change.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the McHenry business: Category-level inside margin after cigarette and lottery pass-through; Lottery, tobacco, SNAP, and (if any) liquor license transfer path; Lease, hours, and whether the seller works nights; Inventory quality, out-of-dates, and shrink; Security incidents and cash-handling controls; Vendor concentration (McLane, local dairy, fountain contracts).
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a McHenry convenience 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.
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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 McHenry convenience store for sale
Recast this McHenry convenience store. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a McHenry 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 convenience store pull a permit or see a patient in McHenry, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the McHenry 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 McHenry limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in McHenry 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 convenience stores hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the McHenry file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in McHenry County, including local closing steps.
Illinois convenience stores typically sell for 2x–3.5x SDE. Lottery revenue, inside sales volume, lease terms, and any attached fuel operations significantly affect value.
Lottery commissions are a meaningful, steady income stream that buyers value. Stores with active lottery machines and high ticket sales benefit from this recurring income being factored into their valuation.
Yes. Combination c-store/gas stations are common in McHenry and sell well. Fuel volume adds to the business's valuation — we analyze both components separately and together to present the strongest case.
Most Illinois c-store sales close within 5–10 months. Stores with clean compliance records, organized financials, and favorable leases tend to attract qualified buyers quickly.
Tobacco, lottery, and any liquor licenses require separate transfer processes in McHenry. We coordinate all license transfers as part of managing your transaction.
Most McHenry asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. McHenry 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 McHenry 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 McHenry County.
No. The planning multiple for convenience stores is a statewide starting point, not a McHenry appraisal. Buyers in McHenry County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Convenience Store Brokerage Near McHenry
We serve convenience stores owners and buyers across McHenry County and the surrounding region.