Cedar Falls & Independence Gas Stations, Two-Store Iowa C-Store Package

$3.4M

Revenue

$660K

SDE

5.3x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a two-location package of gas stations with attached convenience and package (liquor) stores in eastern Iowa, positioned within 35 minutes of each other around Cedar Falls and Independence in Buchanan County. Each store sits on a busy street in a mixed residential and commercial area, giving both a steady base of repeat local traffic. The combined operation runs roughly $225,000 in average merchandise sales per month at a reported 33% margin, plus about 32,000 gallons of fuel per month, with additional income from lottery, ATM, air pump, and various vendor rebates and commissions.

The listing reports $3.35M in gross revenue and $660,000 in cash flow, an SDE margin near 20% that is unusually strong for fuel-and-convenience retail, which typically runs thin. That premium comes from the in-store merchandise mix and the package/liquor component, where margins dwarf fuel. The $3.5M asking price includes the real estate (owned buildings) for both sites, with $200,000 of inventory added on top.

The seller is downsizing and retiring, and both the landlord and operator are willing to sell the properties together, signaling a motivated dual-asset deal. It is framed as an owner-operator or family opportunity, meaning the current economics likely assume hands-on management rather than a layered manager structure. That is the key gate a buyer must underwrite before assuming the $660K carries through.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is anchored by real estate ownership, since the $3.5M price includes both buildings and land, so a buyer is capturing operating cash flow plus a hard asset that can be separately financed or leased back. The $660K cash flow on $3.35M revenue is a ~20% margin, far above typical fuel-retail comps, driven by the in-store and package (liquor) mix rather than pennies-per-gallon fuel.
Convenience and fuel retail is genuinely recession-resistant demand, as people buy gas, cigarettes, lottery, and snacks regardless of the macro cycle. The reported 33% merchandise margin on $225K monthly sales is the profit engine here, and that spend tends to be sticky through downturns.
The two sites sit on busy streets in mixed residential and commercial areas within 35 minutes of each other, which allows shared management, pooled purchasing, and route-based oversight of both stores. This clustering is exactly what makes a small multi-unit package operable by one owner or family without duplicating overhead.
Ancillary income from lottery, ATM, air pump, and vendor rebates layers high-margin, near-passive revenue on top of fuel and merchandise. These streams require little incremental labor and diversify the P&L away from pure fuel volume, which is inherently low-margin and volatile.

How to improve it

Rework the merchandise planogram and category mix toward the highest-margin SKUs, since the store already runs 33% margins and small shifts toward tobacco alternatives, packaged beverages, and prepared food can move blended margin several points. Negotiate better vendor rebate and slotting terms across both locations as a combined buying entity.
Add or expand a hot food and coffee program, which is the single most reliable margin lift in c-store retail and drives daily repeat trips. Even a basic roller-grill, coffee, and grab-and-go setup can materially raise per-visit ticket and in-store gross profit within the first quarter.
Audit fuel supply contracts and jobber agreements at both sites to confirm you are getting competitive branded or unbranded pricing, since 32,000 gallons per month is modest volume where every cent of margin matters. Consider loyalty pricing to convert fuel-only stops into inside sales.
Install or upgrade back-office systems and camera-verified inventory controls to reduce shrink, which is the silent margin killer in cash-heavy c-stores. Tight cash reconciliation and lottery/ATM controls protect the very cash flow you are paying 5.3x for.
Given the seller is retiring and this is pitched to an owner-operator, build a clear management structure before or at close so the business is not dependent on the current owner's daily presence. Hiring and training a competent store manager per site preserves the $660K if you do not want to run the register yourself.
Evaluate extending hours or adding a beer/liquor and lottery focus at whichever site under-indexes, since the package-store license is a defensible, high-margin differentiator that many competing stations lack. Push the alcohol and tobacco categories where local licensing allows.

Diligence notes

Confirm whether the $660K cash flow is reported for both stores combined and how much of it depends on the current owner's unpaid labor, because a retiring owner-operator's SDE typically embeds their own wages. If replacing the owner with two paid managers costs $120K to $150K, the true buyer economics drop meaningfully below the headline.
Verify the real estate is genuinely included in the $3.5M and get independent appraisals on both buildings and land, since the listing shows Real Estate as both Not Disclosed and Owned in different fields. Understand how much of the price is bricks versus business, as that changes financing structure and the effective multiple on operations.
Scrutinize fuel economics separately from merchandise, because 32,000 gallons per month is low volume and fuel margin is thin and swings with wholesale prices. Get three years of fuel gallons, cents-per-gallon margin, and the underlying supply agreement to model true blended profitability.
Order Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments on both sites, as underground storage tanks are the defining hidden liability in gas station acquisitions. Confirm tank age, compliance history, insurance, and any state UST fund coverage before committing capital.
Validate the merchandise margin and monthly sales claims against POS reports and tax returns, since the 33% margin and $225K monthly sales drive the entire valuation thesis. Reconcile lottery, ATM, and rebate income to actual statements rather than seller estimates, and confirm the liquor licenses transfer cleanly.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →