The numbers
As stated by the listing on October 8, 2026.
- Asking price
- $585,000
- SDE
- $300,802
- Gross revenue
- $811,391
- Multiple
- 1.94x
- Established
- 1969
Why we like it
Virginia Beach's oceanfront commercial strip is essentially fixed: a few blocks of frontage platted and built out decades ago, with zoning and flood rules now making new oceanfront construction rare and expensive. That scarcity is what a listing like this one is really selling, since the address itself, not any particular dish, is what pulls a line of tourists past a dozen inland competitors. This restaurant has held that spot since 1969, long enough to become the kind of fixture that locals point visitors toward and that visitors return to on repeat trips. The trade that comes with an address like this is a tourist season: the oceanfront crowd is heaviest from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and a resort-strip restaurant typically earns the bulk of its year in those months, then runs thin through the shoulder seasons and winter. Start with whether the real estate is owned or leased, because at this price the restaurant almost certainly sits on leased oceanfront ground, and the rent, remaining term, and renewal rights on that lease matter more to this deal than anything on the seller's income statement, since there is nowhere else on this strip to relocate to. The structural opportunity usually sits in the off season: a kitchen and dining room built for a summer crowd can often be pushed into private events, banquets, or an expanded bar trade to flatten out the year, which is where a new owner finds growth a long-tenured operator left sitting on the table.
You probably need a licence to run this
A full-service oceanfront restaurant in Virginia Beach almost certainly pours beer, wine, or mixed beverages, which requires a license from the Virginia ABC Authority. That license attaches to the business and the premises, not to a personal credential the buyer has to walk in holding, but it does not automatically transfer: a new owner must apply fresh and pass background checks on the principals, and service would need to pause or be bridged if that approval lags the closing. Confirm whether the current license is active, in good standing, and what the ABC transfer timeline looks like before assuming service continues uninterrupted on day one.
What worries us
- Seasonal revenue concentrationThe stated $811,391 in gross revenue almost certainly skews heavily toward the Memorial Day to Labor Day tourist window, which means a new owner needs cash reserves to carry payroll, rent, and the $7,087 monthly SBA payment through a slow winter, not just an average month implied by the annual figures.
- Leasehold exposure on irreplaceable real estateAt a $585,000 asking price, the land and building are very unlikely to be included, so this is probably a leasehold deal: the lease term, rent escalation, and renewal options need to be nailed down before closing, because losing an oceanfront lease is not a problem you can solve by relocating down the street.
- Weather and coastal exposureHurricanes, nor'easters, and beach closures hit the Virginia coast during the same summer and fall months this business depends on most, and a single bad storm season during peak weeks can erase a year's cushion in a way an inland restaurant never has to plan for.
The callSuits an operator who wants a seasonal tourist restaurant and has reserves for the off season; wrong fit for anyone needing steady year-round cash flow.
Our calculations
Our standard SBA 7(a) acquisition structure applied to the asking price. Assumptions below.
Sources
| SBA 7(a) loan | $553,504 |
| Seller standby note | $30,750 |
| Buyer cash at close | $30,750 |
| Total sources | $615,004 |
Uses
| Purchase price | $585,000 |
| Closing costs (est.) | $17,550 |
| SBA guaranty fee | $12,454 |
| Total project | $615,004 |
- Monthly payment
- $7,087
- Annual debt service
- $85,040
- DSCR
- 1.96xSTRONG
- Injection check
- Meets 10% ($61,500 against $61,500 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.
- Is the building and the land owned or leased, and if leased, what are the remaining term, renewal options, and rent or escalation schedule?
- Does the business hold a Virginia ABC license, what share of the $811,391 in gross revenue is alcohol versus food, and does that license transfer to a new owner or require a fresh application?
- Can you provide monthly revenue and SDE figures for the past two to three years so we can see how much of the year's cash flow comes from the summer tourist season versus the shoulder and winter months?
- What exactly is included in the $585,000 asking price: FF&E, the liquor license, lease assignment, goodwill?
- What is the age and condition of the kitchen equipment, HVAC, and building systems, given the 1969 construction and constant oceanfront salt air exposure?
- 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 Virginia 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 1.96x, 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 Virginia acquisition lenders whose typical deal size fits this one.
- Live Oak Banking Company
28 loans in VAmedian $667,500median rate 8.75%~20 days to first disbursement
- Huntington National Bank
21 loans in VAmedian $350,000median rate 8.75%~32 days to first disbursement
- Truliant FCU
13 loans in VAmedian $545,300median rate 10.25%~25 days to first disbursement
Loan counts and medians are that lender’s change-of-ownership loans in Virginia, 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 October 8, 2026. 5 claims were checked.
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 October 8, 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.