Sell a Business in The Dalles, Oregon

Selling a business in The Dalles, Oregon means pricing it on a quiet January week, not on cherry week. The Dalles is in Wasco County. Downtown is First Street and Second Street. I-84 runs west toward Portland and east toward Pendleton. The Dalles Dam is a year-round employer at the powerhouse gate. Cherry packing is the harvest employer, and Mid-Columbia Medical adds a weekday hospital payroll. A buyer who priced Second Street as a Hood River kite Saturday, or who put a data-center wage into every shop, has the wrong town. Use a quiet week in January, when First Street is not in cherry harvest, as the week that has to cover a manager's wage. If that week cannot cover the wage, cherry week and a dam outage week do not raise the price.

An owner-operated business in The Dalles, Oregon often sells for about 2x to 3.5x seller's discretionary earnings after a real manager wage. If a lead already runs the day, the price is often 2.5x to 4.5x SDE. A managed company is often priced on adjusted EBITDA, commonly about 3x to 6x near a $10 million price. Those ranges are not a quote. Call (352) 515-0226.

This page is not legal, tax, or lending advice. Bridge Point Advisors is a national firm, not a Florida-only practice. The firm works from Spring Hill, Florida.

What the local economy looks like

Dam work is the year-round public-sector book, and it is the first place a sale stalls. Staffing that already places into a facilities week, and construction and HVAC shops that already hold a small-project vendor number, can transfer when more than one contract year is in the sales. A service book that already bills the powerhouse gate follows the same test. One dam purchase order, one outage, or a claim that the river work is growing is concentration. An outage week belongs on its own line. If the owner is still the only name the gate will badge, that vendor book is a person until a shop lead already carries the credentials. Insurance minimums, a second approved contact, and any credential the dam actually uses have to be real before that work is an asset.

Cherry week is the harvest buyers want to treat as the year. Warehouse, trucking, and manufacturing that already pack or haul more than one season can transfer when a full year is in the sales, including a January that is not cherry week. A shed that only works because one harvest filled the dock is concentration.

A Google-adjacent data wage can lift some housing and some trades. It does not sit in every staffing book in the county, and it does not set every price on First Street. Name that share when the invoices already show it. Do not paste it onto a restaurant that never billed a data campus.

Restaurant and retail doors on First Street and Second Street that already open on a January weekday can transfer. Fort Dalles is a civic site, not a customer list. Mid-Columbia Medical keeps weekday demand that does not wait on a cherry Saturday. Fewer providers are available here than in Portland.

HVAC and construction on rooftops in The Dalles and in Chenoweth transfer when a second person already opens. Recurring service is the book. Chenoweth and the cherry-grade edges share labor when the invoices already name them. Dufur belongs only when the same owner already works there. Dufur does not use a First Street rent, and it does not carry a dam badge.

Buyers who already know Portland, Pendleton, Hood River, or Hermiston still price this rent and these customers on their own. Hood River keeps the kite weekend and the waterfront. Portland keeps Multnomah County, including the Pearl District. Pendleton keeps the Round-Up. Hermiston keeps a different Columbia desk. I-84 explains the drive and where wages can go. It does not turn a Wasco shop into a Multnomah lease or a Round-Up price. A Hood River County ticket is not a Wasco County qualifying agent. A Multnomah license is not a First Street receipt. People who can run the shop may already be looking at Portland wages, or at work toward Pendleton or Hermiston.

What is seasonal and what holds all year

Cherry week is the harvest. A dam outage week is a busy project week. Put both on their own lines in two years of weekly sales, next to a January midweek when First Street is quiet and the floor is not in harvest. Name the dam share, the cherry share, any data-adjacent share the invoices already show, any Chenoweth or Dufur share the bills support, and the person who opens when First Street is thin.

The weeks that hold do not wait on the harvest. A vendor book with more than one facilities account still has work between projects. A warehouse or truck line with more than one season still moves freight in January. A staffing desk has to cover payroll when dam work is ordinary, not only during an outage. An HVAC route has to cover payroll from Chenoweth calls, not from a one-phase pack-house job. A First Street restaurant has a January weekday. Read the restaurant guide for a dining room and the service-business guide for a route.

Who buys a business here

A local owner who is already on the dam vendor list is often the cleanest buyer. That person already knows the difference between a facilities week and a cherry Saturday, and has made payroll in January.

A search fund or an independent sponsor fits when a second person already runs the day. That can be a multi-crew trade shop or a warehouse with a manager and more than one season. The business has to operate when the founder is not the person the gate will badge. A single-purchase-order dam book is a poor fit. A cherry-week-only shed is a poor fit.

A strategic buyer fits when the route adds Chenoweth or Dufur coverage the company does not already run, and only when those invoices exist. Buying a shop in order to claim the gorge does not create customers. Freight buyers can look at a pack or warehouse book only when more than one season is documented.

Private equity belongs only when the company is large enough to price on adjusted EBITDA and the founder is not required at every gate, pack dock, and license. Most shops here are smaller than that. The management test is why a large buyer walks when the work still follows one person. M&A advisory fits a managed group.

Leave the deal if you priced Second Street as a kite Saturday, if you wanted a cheaper Portland gorge annex, if you wanted a Pendleton Round-Up, or if you called cherry week the year. Read how to sell your company confidentially before the first tour. A dam vendor is easy to guess on a short downtown. Read what to tell employees and customers before that tour becomes talk on First Street.

How the price is set

Owner-operated shops are priced on seller's discretionary earnings. That fits a First Street dining room, a retail door, a staffing desk, and most trade crews. Add back owner pay and personal costs that are truly personal. Then subtract a real wage for the person who will run the shop after the owner leaves. Skip that wage and the earnings are too high for a buyer to staff.

After that wage, an owner-operated shop often sits around 2x to 3.5x SDE. If a lead already runs the day, the range is often 2.5x to 4.5x SDE. Cherry week is not an add-back. A single dam year and a one-time data-project bulge stay in the year's sales.

Adjusted EBITDA fits a multi-crew group or a diversified warehouse that already runs without the founder and whose customers are more than one packer. Near a $10 million price, that conversation commonly lands around 3x to 6x. Most businesses in The Dalles, Oregon are smaller than that. Keep a First Street counter on SDE. A dam route and a cherry shed do not take the same multiple.

The valuation guide is the national frame. A valuation here follows Wasco County customers, First Street rent, a January that is not cherry week, and a manager the shop can hire. Compare offers that are not all cash in the offer comparison guide. Cash, a seller note, an earn-out, and working capital are different promises. Holdbacks belong on receivable quality, an open dam assignment, a pack contract, and a license that still lists one person.

How the buyer writes the check

An SBA 7(a) loan commonly caps at $5 million. It can fit a documented warehouse or trade route with a lead already in the wage, when a January week shows on the profit and loss. A single-purchase-order dam book or a cherry-week-only shed usually needs more buyer equity. The SBA financing guide explains the national structure. It is not a loan approval, and it is not a promise that a Wasco County shop will clear.

A seller note fits when the hard part is the dam badge, a pack contract, or a First Street lease that still wants the founder's name. The note has to be payable in a January that is not cherry week, after a real manager wage. It does not repair paperwork the dam will not sign. If that January cannot pay the note, the note is too large.

An earn-out fits when one dam year or one cherry season is a large share of the year. Pay the extra money only if that revenue continues. Write the measure in plain numbers, such as revenue from a named season or sales in named weeks. A handshake does not move a powerhouse vendor number, a pack contract, or an Oregon license. Have local counsel review those before you set a closing date. Ask the landlord in writing whether the lease assigns and whether the rent changes.

Working capital is the cash, parts, inventory, and receivables a normal January week needs. Set the target on a midweek when freight is ordinary and First Street is not in harvest, and leave the owner's draw out of that target. Parts for a Chenoweth route, food for a dining room that still opens, and receivables from more than one season belong in it. Cherry-week inventory goes on its own line.

Mistakes buyers make in this town

Diligence often stalls because the buyer priced the town as a cheaper Hood River. Rent, wages, and customers in Wasco County do not match Hood River, Portland, Pendleton, or Hermiston. A kite Saturday does not happen on Second Street.

The First Street lease may not assign, or the landlord may want a new term and a higher rent. One dam number or one packer may be most of the year, and that customer may refuse consent. The license may stay in the seller's name. Use the sale-prep roadmap to separate dam work, cherry pack, First Street rooms, and any data-adjacent share the invoices already show before a summary goes to buyers. A Dufur receipt and any I-84 terminal language sit on different desks.

The person who can run a January week may already have taken work toward Portland, Pendleton, or Hermiston. A related-party lease, inventory left out of working capital, and one outage order treated as a customer list will reopen the price. So will a founder who is still the only name the powerhouse gate or the pack contract will accept.

Sellers can start at the sell-side overview, the industry index, or contact. Buyers can start at buyers, review listings, and sign an NDA before they see which weeks make up the year. The blog holds the longer guides on valuation, financing, and diligence.

What to look at in a dam shop, a warehouse, and a restaurant

Walk the dam shop on a week between projects. Ask how many facilities accounts send work, who the gate will badge when the owner is gone, and whether one outage year is most of the sales. Check the insurance minimums and the second approved contact. One purchase order is not a customer list.

For a warehouse, truck line, or packing shed, read a January freight week beside cherry week. Ask how many seasons are in the book, who dispatches when the owner is off the dock, and which contracts can move. A shed that only fills during harvest is a seasonal dock. If a data-adjacent account is in the price, show it on its own line.

Walk a First Street or Second Street restaurant on a January weekday. Ask who eats there when cherry week is over, whether the lease assigns, and what food is on hand for a normal week. Check that the same crew can open. A cherry Saturday is a separate week.

Use the same split for HVAC, construction, staffing, manufacturing, and retail. Write down the towns you bill. Separate a Chenoweth rooftop from a dam gate, and separate Dufur when the invoices name Dufur. A staffing desk that places into the dam and also shows a data-adjacent account has to show both. If one account is a large share of the year, show the contract. If the building is the business, say whether the rent changes when the seller is no longer the tenant.

What to bring when you call

Bring two years of weekly sales, with a January week and a cherry week both visible. Bring the First Street lease, the customer list, and the name of the person who already runs an ordinary day. If the powerhouse gate still lists one person, bring that vendor paperwork and the steps required to change the badge. If a license still lists the owner, bring it. If Chenoweth or Dufur sits inside the asking price, bring the invoices that name them.

Start with a valuation, your industry page, or contact. Call (352) 515-0226. The ranges at the top of this page are a direction, not a quote. Bring the week that has to cover a manager's wage, and the name of the person who already runs that week.