The numbers
As stated by the listing on September 17, 2026.
- Asking price
- $375,000
- SDE
- $250,000
- Gross revenue
- $250,000
- Multiple
- 1.50x
- Established
- 2017
- Employees
- 2
Why we like it
A cannoli shell fried and left empty keeps for weeks in a dry cabinet, but the moment ricotta or mascarpone goes in, a clock starts: the shell pulls moisture from the filling and turns chewy within a few hours, which is why a real cannoli shop cannot stock a case of finished pastry the way a doughnut shop can. Shells get made and held; filling gets piped to order, or as close to it as the counter allows. That split creates two different jobs running under one roof, one batch-and-store, the other real-time and driven by whoever walks in that hour. This shop has run that rhythm in Oceanside since 2017 with two employees carrying both sides of the counter alongside the owner. Start with the split between walk-in retail and any wholesale or catering business, since a case that sells out on foot traffic alone behaves nothing like one that ships trays to restaurants on a delivery schedule, and the staffing and hours needed to support each are not the same. The stated numbers show cash flow equal to the entire top line, which on its face leaves no room for flour, dairy, sugar, boxes, or the two employees' wages, so the underlying financials need to explain that gap before the multiple means anything. What grows this business is less about adding customers than about filling more cannoli per open hour without the shell going soft before it sells.
You probably need a licence to run this
California requires every retail food facility to have at least one staff member holding a certified food protection manager credential, such as ServSafe, on top of a standard county health permit and city business license. That credential does not have to belong to the owner personally, so a buyer without it can qualify by getting certified themselves or by keeping a certified employee on staff, but confirm who currently holds it and whether that person is staying.
What worries us
- Two employees and an owner who works the counter and productionWith only two employees, the recipes, filling ratios, and supplier relationships may live mostly in the owner's head rather than on paper. If that knowledge doesn't transfer cleanly, a buyer can end up owning the storefront without owning the actual product.
- Cash flow claimed equal to total revenueThe seller states $250,000 in gross revenue and $250,000 in SDE, meaning stated cash flow equals the entire top line with no visible deduction for ingredients, packaging, rent, or labor. That is unusual for a bakery and needs to be reconciled against real financial statements, not taken as given.
- Single-location, foot-traffic dependenceA retail dessert shop in a beach town like Oceanside likely sees demand swing with tourist season and is tied to the visibility and lease terms of one storefront. Losing the lease or a dip in foot traffic hits this business differently than it would a wholesale or delivery-based operation.
The callSuits a hands-on buyer willing to work the counter and learn the recipes personally, not an absentee investor, and the seller's numbers need real verification first.
Our calculations
Our standard SBA 7(a) acquisition structure applied to the asking price. Assumptions below.
Sources
| SBA 7(a) loan | $354,810 |
| Seller standby note | $19,711 |
| Buyer cash at close | $19,712 |
| Total sources | $394,233 |
Uses
| Purchase price | $375,000 |
| Closing costs (est.) | $11,250 |
| SBA guaranty fee | $7,983 |
| Total project | $394,233 |
- Monthly payment
- $4,543
- Annual debt service
- $54,513
- DSCR
- 2.12xSTRONG
- Injection check
- Meets 10% ($39,423 against $39,423 required)
- Closing costs estimated at 3% of asking price
- Owner salary of $120,000, loaded
- Rate of Prime + 2.25% = 9.25%
- 10-year term, fully amortizing
- Injection split half cash, half seller standby note
How we would go about buying it
The order matters. Every step below is free until the last one, and each is a chance to walk away before it costs you anything.
- 1
Call the broker, not the bank
The listing is brokered, so the broker is the gate. Ask for the CIM and the last three years of tax returns, and expect to sign an NDA first. Do this before you talk to a lender: no lender will size a loan without the numbers, and the broker will not release them to a lender you have not engaged.
Open the listing - 2
Ask these before you spend anything
Specific to this business, from our read of the listing. The answers decide whether the numbers above survive contact.
- What share of revenue comes from walk-in retail versus any wholesale or catering accounts with restaurants, coffee shops, or event planners, and how does that split shift between summer and winter?
- Can you provide P&L statements or tax returns that reconcile $250,000 in stated cash flow against $250,000 in stated gross revenue, since that leaves no apparent room for ingredients, packaging, rent, or the two employees' wages?
- Are the shell and filling recipes, ratios, and supplier list documented anywhere, or does that knowledge live only with the current owner, and will the owner commit to a hands-on transition period?
- What is the remaining lease term and current rent, is there an option to renew, and how much of the customer base is tied to foot traffic at this specific location?
- Who currently holds the food protection manager certification for the facility, and is that person staying on after the sale?
- 3
Take it to lenders who do this size
Talk to more than one. Rate is the least of it: the lender who has done fifty of these in California will close, and the one who has done two will waste your quarter. Below are the lenders whose typical deal size actually fits this one.
- 4
Structure the offer around the coverage
Our structure clears the floor at 2.12x, and a lender will run its own version with its own add-backs. If the earnings come back lower than stated, the price has to come down or the seller note has to grow. Model both before you make an offer.
Model it yourself
Who we would call
Active California acquisition lenders whose typical deal size fits this one.
- Live Oak Banking Company
158 loans in CAmedian $760,000median rate 9.00%~20 days to first disbursement
- Huntington National Bank
85 loans in CAmedian $346,000median rate 9.25%~32 days to first disbursement
- Open Bank
64 loans in CAmedian $902,500median rate 8.75%~33 days to first disbursement
Loan counts and medians are that lender’s change-of-ownership loans in California, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3. Funding speed is the lender’s national median from approval to first disbursement. Names link to our data profile for each lender.
The fine print
The statements this write-up makes about the trade and its rules, as opposed to the figures, were checked against public sources on September 17, 2026. One claim was checked.
Worth verifying yourself
These are industry statements we could not confirm against an authoritative public source. They are not contradicted by anything we found, but treat them as leads to check rather than settled facts.
- Cannoli shells stay crisp when stored dry but pull moisture from ricotta or mascarpone filling and soften within a few hours once filled, which is why cannoli shops typically fill shells to order rather than stock pre-filled pastry.
- Oceanside, California is a San Diego County beach town where retail foot traffic typically swings with a busier summer tourist season and a quieter winter.
Run your own numbers
The deal analyzer models price, seller note, equity injection, and DSCR under current SBA terms, with every assumption adjustable.
Open the deal analyzerListing facts as stated by the listing on September 17, 2026, not independently verified. Structure, payment, DSCR, and injection figures are our own computation under the assumptions above, using the Prime rate as of September 28, 2026. Lender shortlist from the SBA 7(a) FOIA file, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3, as of June 30, 2026. Methodology. See an error? Email us and we will correct it.