Cafes, restaurants & coffee shops

Buy a cafe, restaurant or coffee shop: a ready business from owners

Updated 20 October 2026

You buy the place together with the lease

When you buy a coffee shop or cafe, you almost always buy not the walls but a running business: equipment, menu, team, brand and the right to use the premises under a lease. So the first question is not “how much is it”, but “how long does the lease run and can it be transferred to me”.

On BlaBlaPrice you describe what you are looking for, and owners of places send offers with figures. You don't have to browse listings and call each one.

What to put in your request

• format of the place — takeaway coffee, a coffee shop with seating, restaurant, pizzeria, bar;
• city and area — city centre, near a metro station, a residential area;
• size and seats, for example 800 sq ft, 30 seats;
• premises — owned or rented, amount of rent and length of the lease;
• profit — turnover and net profit per month;
• what is included — equipment, brand, staff, recipes, licences;
• age of the place — how many years it has been running;
• budget — for example, up to R 590,000.

Example: “I'm looking for a coffee shop with seating in Durban, central area or near a metro station, 400–600 sq ft, at least 20 seats. Rent up to R 16,000 a month, lease with at least 3 years left. Profit from R 20,000 a month, with equipment and staff. Budget up to R 590,000.”

What to check before you pay

For a food business, the location and the lease terms decide everything. Find out the term, how rent is raised, and whether the landlord agrees to a new tenant. Check that the equipment belongs to the owner and not to a lease company, and that the food licences and permits and agreements for waste removal are in place.

Ask for billing records for several months, not one “nice” figure. Allow for seasons: a summer terrace and a winter coffee shop give different numbers. Work out how much of the revenue goes on rent, supplies and salaries before you believe the “profit”.

How to compare offers

Owners reply in the chat with a description of the place, price, what is included and the terms of handover. BlaBlaPrice compares the offers and shows the best one for you first, with seller reviews alongside. Owners can see where they stand among the others, so they may add equipment or staff training to the package.

• Compare places by how many monthly profits the business is priced at, not only by the price.
• Check whether the stock, crockery and handover of suppliers are in the price.
• Ask why the owner is selling: the answer says a lot.

A common mistake is buying on turnover without checking the lease and debts. Another is not agreeing that the owner helps with the handover for a few weeks. If you prefer to work with a ready model, see franchises, and for retail, shops. There are also companies and enterprises.