The Restaurant Brokers

What The Restaurant Brokers does

The Restaurant Brokers is a privately held business brokerage firm headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, founded in 1980 by Reuel "Ruly" Couch. The firm specializes exclusively in the buying, selling, and valuation of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, serving the Phoenix metropolitan area and extending coverage across Northern Arizona, Yuma, Casa Grande, and Tucson. Its customer base is composed of independent small and mid-sized restaurant operators, buyers seeking turnkey food-and-beverage businesses, and sellers exiting the hospitality industry.

The firm operates a traditional relationship-driven brokerage model with no proprietary technology platform, mobile application, or disclosed software product. Core capabilities are concentrated in its senior brokers, led by Ruly Couch with a 45-plus-year track record and over 2,000 completed transactions. The firm also acts as a charter member of the Arizona Board of Business Brokers, signaling formal industry standing. Service lines include buyer and seller representation, business valuation, and liquor-license transfers — a regulatory and procedural niche that is specialized within the restaurant M&A category. Customer and prospect data is maintained in a proprietary database of over 10,000 contacts accumulated over four decades of operation.

Revenue is generated through transaction-based commissions on closed deals, with listing prices historically ranging from approximately $45,000 to $675,000. There are no disclosed subscription products, recurring fees, SaaS components, or platform-mediated transactions. The team consists of roughly five professionals, including succession-generation bench depth through Zach Couch. No outside funding, M&A activity, or institutional capital is disclosed.

Name

The Restaurant Brokers

Legal name

The Restaurant Brokers

Website

https://therestaurantbrokers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Restaurant Brokers is a Tempe, Arizona-based business brokerage founded in 1980 that exclusively facilitates the buying, selling, and valuation of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs across Arizona on a commission basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate & Business Brokerage (Restaurant Industry)

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Main Street Business Brokerage (SMB/Owner-Operated) (FSAEAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sell-Side Business Brokerage (FSAEAIAC), Commercial Real Estate Brokerage (Leasing & Sales) (FSAEAJAB), Lower Middle-Market Business Brokerage (FSAEAIAB)

Keywords

• Restaurant business brokerage
• Commercial real estate services
• Liquor license brokerage
• Business valuation services
• Restaurant lease negotiations

Headquarters

HQ city

Tempe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Business Brokerage Commission: Traditional business brokerage services for restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Earns transaction-based commissions on sales, purchases, and leases of restaurant-related businesses and commercial spaces. Services include business valuation, marketing packages, negotiation representation, and escrow coordination.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Restaurant Brokers is a commercial real estate and business brokerage firm that specializes in the purchase, sale, and lease of restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and associated food and beverage businesses in the Phoenix metro market. The firm provides business sales representation, buyer representation, landlord and tenant representation, liquor license (Series 6 and Series 7) sales and acquisitions, business valuation reports, and lease negotiation services to a database of over 10,000 clients, earning transaction-based commissions on each deal.

Product overview

The Restaurant Brokers is a commercial real estate and business brokerage firm offering a unified suite of services for the restaurant, bar, and nightclub industry in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The core offering consists of seven interconnected service lines: Selling Restaurants (business sales brokerage), Buyer Broker (buyer representation), Liquor License Sales and Acquisitions (Series 6 and Series 7 licenses), Landlord Services, Tenant Representation, Business Valuation, and Lease Negotiations. The company operates a confidential listing system with a database of over 10,000 clients and has brokered thousands of transactions since 1980. Listings include both asset sales and lease opportunities across multiple Arizona markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Selling Restaurants (Business Sales Brokerage) Full-service business sales brokerage for restaurant, bar, and nightclub owners, including exit strategy planning, confidentiality procedures, business valuation guidance, marketing package creation, professional negotiation representation, and escrow coordination through closing. Targeted at Arizona business owners looking to sell.
• Buyer Broker (Buyer Representation) Representation and support for individuals and groups buying restaurants, bars, or nightclubs, including access to off-market listings, document drafting, contract preparation, and transaction facilitation from offer through close.
• Liquor License Sales and Acquisitions Assistance with purchasing or selling Series 6 (bar) and Series 7 (beer and wine) liquor licenses in Arizona, with licenses listed in a range of approximately $55,000 to $225,000.
• Landlord Services Specialized tenant placement for vacant restaurant and bar commercial spaces, leveraging restaurant-specific qualification expertise to match commercial property owners (landlords) with vetted restaurant and bar operators.
• Tenant Representation Site selection and expansion support for restaurateurs, including search criteria development, market and location assessment, and Letter of Intent drafting to secure suitable restaurant or bar space.
• Business Valuation Comprehensive Opinion of Value reports prepared by a Board Certified Business Appraiser (BCBA), drawing on 40+ years of restaurant market knowledge, used for estate planning, partnership disputes, financing, and divorce proceedings.
• Lease Negotiations Lease renewal and renegotiation services for restaurateurs, leveraging current market conditions, prevailing lease rates, and viable alternative locations to secure more favorable lease terms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,000 successful transactions completed
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Arizona Board of Business BrokerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Restaurant Brokers is a charter member of the Arizona Board of Business Brokers, an association of business brokers working together to create additional buzz about businesses for sale. Every member receives information about available restaurants with applicable confidentiality instructions when they have a well-suited client.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• BizBuySell: Largest online marketplace for buying and selling small businesses, including a sizable restaurant category. Indirect competitor/partner channel: a listing source for The Restaurant Brokers but also a potential disintermediation risk over time.
• RestaurantsForSale.com (by Landmark Internet): Vertically-focused online marketplace for restaurant and bar business sales. Comparable in target transaction type and customer base, but competes on self-service listing exposure versus full-service brokerage.

Direct peers

• Restaurant Realty Company: California-based brokerage focused on selling restaurants, bars, and hospitality businesses on the West Coast. Direct peer with comparable niche specialization and owner-operator client base, differing mainly by geography.
• We Sell Restaurants: National franchise specializing exclusively in the sale of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Closest comparable to The Restaurant Brokers in customer type (SMB owner-operators), product (restaurant business sales), and specialization depth.

Broad incumbents

• Transworld Business Advisors: Large global business brokerage, franchise sales, and M&A advisory network. Overlaps with The Restaurant Brokers on restaurant business sales and Main Street / lower middle-market transactions, but serves broader industries and scales.
• Sunbelt Business Brokers: Large U.S. business brokerage franchise network that handles SMB and lower middle-market business sales across industries, including restaurants. Comparable in business-brokerage model and Main Street client base, but not restaurant-specialized.
• Marcus & Millichap: Large commercial real estate investment-sales firm with dedicated restaurant and hospitality investment sales teams. Comparable in CRE brokerage for restaurants and tenant/landlord representation, but operates at much larger scale and broader asset classes.
• VR Business Brokers / Mergers & Acquisitions: Established Main Street and lower middle-market business brokerage franchise. Comparable in sell-side representation, valuation services, and owner-operator client base, though not a restaurant specialist.
• Murphy Business & Financial Corporation: National business brokerage and M&A franchise serving SMB and lower middle-market sellers. Comparable in transaction-based commission model and buyer/seller representation, with overlap in restaurant and bar deals.

Regional players

• Lee & Associates (Arizona): Commercial real estate brokerage with Arizona offices handling retail and restaurant leasing/sales. Comparable in regional Phoenix market presence and tenant/landlord representation for restaurant space, though it is a broader CRE firm.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/restaurantbrokers
• Instagraminstagram.com/the_restaurant_brokers
• Xx.com/4restbrokers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-restaurant-brokers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Restaurant Brokers