A restaurant in Woodstock 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 restaurants playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Woodstock file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Woodstock market
Selling a restaurant in Woodstock
A restaurant in Woodstock 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 restaurants playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Woodstock file.
Woodstock is McHenry County’s seat: a classic courthouse square (the Groundhog Day square), Metra’s Union Pacific Northwest terminus, and a small-city downtown, not Crystal Lake’s retail sprawl.
Square-facing hospitality and professional offices are the distinctive businesses. Tourism around the square is real and seasonal. County-seat services add a little stability. Buyers who want “northwest collar” still have to accept a thinner PE pool than Algonquin’s Randall Road.
Woodstock has about 25,735 residents in McHenry County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Crystal Lake, McHenry, Algonquin. 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
2.5x–3.5x SDE
Typical timeline
6–12 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
McHenry County
Population
25,735
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Crystal Lake, McHenry, Algonquin
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.
Woodstock demand for restaurants is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 25,735 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Restaurant in Woodstock
What a Woodstock buyer will underwrite on this restaurant
Food and liquor in Woodstock close on the lease and the local board as often as they close on prime cost. McHenry County health and — if the room pours — local-control liquor are Woodstock clocks, not a statewide multiple. Neighbors already compare this room to Crystal Lake, McHenry, Algonquin.
Restaurants statewide typically plan around 2.5x–3.5x SDE and a 6–12 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Woodstock shop. Buyers here usually argue revenue consistency, lease terms, equipment condition, staff retention, location foot traffic.
Closing clock for this Woodstock file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: County or City of Chicago food-establishment licenses sit with the premises and the operator, not the seller personally. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Woodstock application of it.
Woodstock is a regional market. The first serious call is often an owner-operator from Crystal Lake, McHenry, Algonquin, 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 restaurant in Woodstock
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 90-seat independently owned Italian room in Oak Park with a full bar, a Tuesday-through-Sunday dinner book, and the selling chef still expediting Friday and Saturday. Not a closed sale and not a quote.
A restaurant whose customers already sit in Crystal Lake, McHenry, Algonquin is a larger business than one that stops at the Woodstock city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Woodstock restaurant
Restaurant buyers adjust the tax return, not the OpenTable story. Add back owner W-2, auto, and meals that a buyer will not keep, then strip catering spikes, PPP-era leftovers, and any family host who is not staying. Prime-cost (COGS plus kitchen and floor labor) has to land in a band a new operator can actually run; if the owner still expedites Friday night, subtract a kitchen manager before you argue 3x.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Woodstock shop. A restaurant whose tax return shows $149,000 of net profit is not worth $149,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $71,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $25,500 of discretionary benefits, $10,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $13,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $84,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $185,000. At the planning range 2.5x–3.5x, enterprise value is $462,500 to $647,500. Mid-range 3.00x is $555,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Woodstock buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.00 times $185,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $555,000 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 Woodstock restaurant — not a quote
Net profit
$149,000
Owner W-2
$71,000
Benefits
$25,500
One-time
$10,500
Personal
$13,500
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$84,000
Recast SDE
$185,000
Planning EV at 3.00x
$555,000
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for restaurants.
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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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.
County or City of Chicago food-establishment licenses sit with the premises and the operator, not the seller personally. They do not auto-transfer. If the room pours, the municipal liquor license and Illinois Liquor Control Commission state license are a separate, often slower, path. Health-department change-of-owner inspections are a closing condition, not a paperwork afterthought.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Woodstock
For a restaurant in Woodstock, the first labor question is: Documented prime cost a buyer can hold without the seller on the line.
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 restaurant buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Documented prime cost a buyer can hold without the seller on the line; Assignable lease with term and options left; Liquor-license class and a realistic local-control path; Daypart balance versus a single Friday-night spike; Kitchen equipment age and hood/suppression inspection status.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Woodstock business: Weekly sales by daypart and a 24-month weather-and-holiday overlay; Prime-cost trend and whether the owner is still on the line or the pass; Lease assignment, remaining term, percentage rent, and landlord consent politics; Health-department inspection file and any open violations; Liquor-license class, local-control hearing calendar, and transferability; Vendor accounts, linen and draft-system leases, and POS ownership.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a Woodstock restaurant 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
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Loan Amount—
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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 Woodstock restaurant for sale
Recast this Woodstock restaurant. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Woodstock 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 restaurant pull a permit or see a patient in Woodstock, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Woodstock 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 Woodstock 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 restaurants hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Woodstock file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in McHenry County, including local closing steps.
Illinois restaurants typically sell for 2.5x–3.5x Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE). A restaurant generating $150,000 annually in SDE would likely be valued between $375,000 and $525,000, though lease terms, equipment age, and location heavily influence the final price.
Most restaurant sales in Woodstock close within 6–12 months of listing. Restaurants priced correctly from day one with clean financials tend to close toward the faster end of that range.
Not always, but it helps. SBA lenders look at relevant experience, including management backgrounds in hospitality. First-time buyers with strong business acumen can still qualify, especially if the restaurant has strong, documented cash flow.
You'll need three years of tax returns, a current P&L, a copy of your lease, and an equipment list. The cleaner and more complete these documents, the faster your deal will move.
Yes. This is standard practice in business brokerage. All buyers sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before receiving any identifying information about your business. Your identity and the business name remain confidential until a serious buyer is identified.
Most Woodstock 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 Woodstock 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 restaurants is a statewide starting point, not a Woodstock appraisal. Buyers in McHenry County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Restaurant Brokerage Near Woodstock
We serve restaurants owners and buyers across McHenry County and the surrounding region.