THURSDAY'S CUP: Peachy deals still available

Despite dozens of nibbles, a chain of 10 Peach's restaurants in Sarasota and Manatee counties still remains for sale almost a year after it officially hit the market.

The other aspect that remains: A recession-fueled price.

The offer, listed by Re/Max broker Stan Rutstein, is all 10 restaurants for $4.25 million, a price that includes equipment and other items. For a chain that at its peak in the mid 2000s reached nearly $1 million in annual revenues per store, the price seems like bargain. (The restaurants, most of which are in strip malls, are leased, which isn't covered in the sale.)

Nonetheless, the offer has run into the brick wall better known as the recession. “It's not easy to get financing in this economic world,” Rutstein tells Coffee Talk, “especially in restaurants.”

Rutstein adds that the price, while still listed at $4.25 million, is “open to conversation.”

The owner and founder of the chain, Michael Luciano, officially put the restaurants up for sale last June. At the time Luciano said he wanted to get out of the restaurant business and return to his native Maine.

Rutstein says he fields a heavy amount of calls on the sale, but a good fit has been elusive. The right buyer, he says, is someone with small chain restaurant experience who would be able to use that to obtain financing.