The buying library
1–3 month openings vs 12–18 new build; permits partly in place. Existing hood, grease trap, gas and ventilation save $100,000-$400,000 vs raw build (MercatoList NYC 2026; Jimmy Carey Atlanta: saves $150,000-$400,000). WeSellRestaurants: new build $150-$300/sq ft vs second-gen cosmetic update from ~$50/sq ft; NYC data: second-gen $125-$250/sq ft vs cold shell $250-$450/sq ft. Risk: inherited infrastructure condition — budget inspection/repair, and second-gen spaces often command 10-25% rent premiums or key money. The expensive, slow, invisible work of a restaurant — the hood and fire suppression, the grease interceptor, the gas and water capacity, the health-department history — is already in the walls. Build-out in a second-generation space runs $50–$200 per sq ft against first-generation ranges two to four times that.
Price a second-generation opening against a new build in the True-Cost Calculator — the space-type switch is right there, and the gap is usually the whole argument.
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Included in the $49 Opening Pack: the filled templates, trackers, calendars and worksheets for this door — built from the same dated datasets as the free checker above.
Sources: The FirstTableCheck cost + liquor datasets; valuation conventions: CT Acquisitions — Business Valuation Multiplier 2026; BizBen — How to Value a Restaurant in California 2026; 7shifts — How to Calculate Restaurant Value, 2026-10. Dataset checked October 23, 2026. Where a fee or rule is set by a county or city, this page says so instead of guessing a number.