Lake George Gas Station, Restaurant & Mixed-Use Property, Upstate NY

$2.7M

Revenue

$800K

SDE

5.6x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a multi-income destination property in Lake George, New York, one of Upstate New York's strongest seasonal tourism markets. The asset bundles a high-volume gas station with six pumps (two diesel), a roughly 2,000 SF convenience store, a three-story 4,100 SF restaurant with rooftop and outdoor seating, additional retail and commercial space, and apartment/office-style residential quarters. It is positioned as the first fuel and food stop travelers hit when entering the area from the highway, directly across from a busy mini-golf attraction and minutes from the Village and the lake.

The business generates approximately $2.7M in gross revenue and roughly $800K to $850K in cash flow. Fuel volume runs about 400,000 gallons annually with heavy seasonal spikes, and the restaurant swings from $30K to $40K per month in winter to $100K to $150K per month in summer. Ownership has poured about $4.3M into the site since 2007, including land, 25,000-gallon double-wall underground tanks, restaurant expansion, and a newly constructed 2021 mixed-use retail/office/residential building.

What makes this deal notable, and complicated, is the price structure. The $4.5M asking price does NOT include the real estate, which is separately valued at $4.0M. So a buyer is either paying $4.5M for the operating business alone or effectively $8.5M all-in for business plus property. The listing leans hard on tourism exposure, late-night hours (open until 2 AM when competitors close early), and future upside from a 400-unit apartment development under construction nearby.

Why we like it

The property is a genuine location moat: it is the first gas station and restaurant travelers encounter entering the area from the highway, sitting across from a busy attraction and minutes from the lake. Location like this in a fixed tourism corridor is not easily replicated, and being one of the only late-night operations open until 2 AM captures demand competitors leave on the table.
Revenue diversity across fuel, convenience, restaurant, retail, and residential spreads risk that a single-line gas station or restaurant would carry alone. Fuel volume of roughly 400,000 gallons annually plus a restaurant swinging to $100K to $150K per month in peak summer gives multiple independent cash streams under one roof.
Documented reinvestment is real and recent, with nearly $2M put in over the past five years and a mixed-use building constructed in 2021. Modern fuel infrastructure, a 21-door walk-in cooler with three compressors, and updated finishes mean a buyer is not walking into a deferred-maintenance trap on day one.
There is a credible demand tailwind from a 400-unit apartment development under construction nearby, which should lift year-round population density and traffic counts. That converts a heavily seasonal asset into something with a stronger off-peak floor, directly addressing the biggest weakness of a tourism-dependent property.

How to improve it

Lease up the currently unused commercial, office, and residential space, which the seller flags as untapped upside. Signing tenants for the 825 SF first-floor retail and the upper-level apartment/office units adds high-margin recurring rent that requires almost no operating effort from the core business.
Attack the seasonality gap by building a winter demand engine, since restaurant volume collapses from $100K-plus in summer to $30K to $40K in winter. Targeted local marketing, catering, and off-season promotions aimed at the incoming 400-unit residential base can flatten that revenue curve.
Optimize fuel margin and supply terms by renegotiating the jobber/supply contract on 400,000 gallons of annual volume. Even a few cents per gallon of improved margin flows straight to cash flow given the volume already moving through the pumps.
Expand convenience store basket size and inside-sales attach rate, since fuel drives traffic but the store carries the margin. Better cold-vault merchandising across the 21-door cooler, food-to-go, and impulse placement can meaningfully lift per-visit spend.
Formalize and separately account for each revenue line so the operation reports clean unit economics for fuel, store, restaurant, and rentals. This both improves management decisions and materially strengthens the resale story when it is time to exit.
Extend or standardize the late-night advantage that already differentiates the site, and market it aggressively. Being the only operator open until 2 AM is a defensible edge worth amplifying with signage and local awareness campaigns.
Evaluate branded fuel or QSR licensing for the restaurant and forecourt to lift traffic credibility and buying power. A recognized brand can raise both fuel throughput and food volume in a high-visibility tourism location.

Diligence notes

The single most important item: the $4.5M asking price explicitly does NOT include the real estate, which is separately valued at $4.0M. Clarify whether a deal must include buying the property, whether a lease is offered, and at what rent, because an $800K cash flow number that excludes real occupancy cost is not a true owner-operator earnings figure.
Reconcile the cash flow figures, which are stated inconsistently as $800K in the header and $850K-plus in the narrative. Demand three years of tax returns, fuel-supplier statements, POS reports, and restaurant sales records to verify the number and confirm it is SDE net of a fair market rent or debt service on the property.
Underwrite the seasonality directly given restaurant swings from $30K-$40K in winter to $100K-$150K in summer. Confirm whether the cash flow claim relies on peak months and stress-test what the business earns in a soft tourism season or a weak summer.
Verify the age and compliance of the 25,000-gallon underground double-wall fuel tanks, which are roughly 17 years old. Environmental liability, tank testing, and eventual replacement cost are major hidden expenses in fuel retail and must be inspected before close.
Validate the 400-unit apartment development that underpins the growth thesis, including permits, timeline, and likelihood of completion. A stalled or cancelled project removes a large part of the year-round demand upside the listing is selling.
Assess the labor and management model, since this is described as fully owner-operated across gas, retail, restaurant, and residential. A buyer needs to understand the true staffing, the owner's hours, and what management layer must be hired to run a multi-format operation without the current family owners.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →