Colorado's #1 Rated Appraisal Company

Colorado’s #1 Rated Appraisal Company

Fast Food & Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) Appraisal Services

Colorado Appraisal Consultants has experience with fast food and quick service restaurant (QSR) property appraisals.

We have appraised all fast food properties including:

  • International brands
  • National brands
  • Regional brands
  • Local brands
  • Vacant/dark buildings
  • Ground lease
  • Fee simple
  • Leased fee
  • Leasehold
  • Lease renewals
  • And more…

We can establish market value, market rent, replacement cost and more.

Our fast food appraisal service areas are generally Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Eagle, Elbert, El Paso, Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer Lincoln, Summit and Weld Counties. View our Service Areas here.

To quickly understand the price and turn-around time for an appraisal on your fast food or QSR property, please use this appraisal pricing form.

Experience

Colorado Appraisal Consultants has experience providing appraisals for the following purposes:

  • Expert witness
  • Litigation
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Insurance
  • Gift Tax
  • Donation
  • Estate Settlement (IRS-income tax)
  • County Tax Appeal
  • Debt Restructuring
  • Foreclosure (REO)
  • Accounting
  • Private Financing
  • Mortgage Financing/Lending (including SBA)
  • Metro District Financing
  • Internal Decision Making
  • Buy/Sell
  • And more…

Fast Food Property Definition 

According to the Appraisal Institute Commercial Database Data Standards and Glossary of Terms (2004), which is part of The Dictionary of Real Estate Appraisal, 5th Edition, published by the Appraisal Institute, a “fast food restaurant” property is defined as as:

“A restaurant, generally part of a chain operation, that specializes in the rapid preparation and service of a specialty food, e.g., fried chicken, hamburgers, pizza; typically with an automobile drive-through window for extra convenience.”

Compare this to their definition of a “restaurant” which is:

“A place where meals are served to the public.”

Or to their definition of a “limited-service restaurant” which is:

“A restaurant facility designed to accommodate operations with a limited serving staff; layout typically includes an ordering and/or buffet line stations for customers.”

All these sub-types are still regarded as being “retail” properties.

Depending on the nature of the QSR or fast food operation, it may either be classified as a fast food restaurant, limited-service restaurant, or simply, a retail property.

Fast Food & QSR Buildings

Some fast food/QSR buildings have more of a specific design than others. Take, for example, your favorite nationally branded fast food operation, such as McDonald’s or Wendy’s. Their buildings, from exterior to interior, are highly specific to their brand. Seldom, if ever, will you see one of these operations occupying a building that was not built to their very specific prototype. The widespread belief is that this is a result of “brand recognition”.

On the other hand, some local or national QSR tenants will occupy a multi-tenant retail building that from the exterior, appears to be no different than the other retail spaces (besides interior build-out) in the project.

Fast Food & QSR Property Appraisal

In some cases, appraising a fast food or QSR property can be very straight forward. An example of this is if a national brand has occupied the building for a long time, and as of the appraisal date, are occupying the building under a long-term lease with 10+ years remaining on the lease. In this case, the highest and best use of the property is fairly straight forward.

If the building becomes vacant (goes “dark”), has a lease coming due in the near term, has an excellent site with an old building, or a similar circumstance, the appraisal becomes much more difficult. Referring back to the discussion that national fast food franchises will almost always only occupy their prototype, if you’re dealing with a property that was built for a specific brand, and they vacate, the building can become “functionally obsolete” to almost all national brands. The question then becomes, is the property more valuable selling as land-only to a developer or other franchise, or, is the value higher keeping the building “as is” and selling or leasing to a local or mom and pop restaurant, in which your lease rate and sale price will more than likely take a substantial hit (as compared to selling or leasing to a national brand).  Answering this question can be a significant undertaking.

Fast Food & QSR Appraisal Pricing

Given the array of potential circumstances, it is literally impossible to quote pricing on this property type without first knowing some basic parameters. To quickly and easily get pricing and turn time on your fast food or QSR property, please use this appraisal pricing form.