Billy Reed’s, one of Palm Springs’ most beloved restaurants for a half-century, is up for sale as the owner plans to retire.
According to the listing, the turnkey operation includes 63 employees, including four managers, long-term staff and fully documented recipes.
“There are many interested buyers, the listing has had really good action and the phone has been busy,” Steve Lyle, CEO of Coldwell Banker Commercial Lyle & Associates, told City News Service.
Lyle said he has been a customer of Billy Reed’s for 49 of its 50 years in business and is happy to be helping them with the sale.
The restaurant at 1800 N. Palm Canyon Drive is listed for $7.5 million.
“We’re hoping whoever buys the restaurant keeps everything the same,” a restaurant employee told CNS. Many of the restaurant’s customers were sharing the same hopes in the comments section of the restaurant’s most recent Facebook posts.
“Billy Reed’s is such an iconic restaurant in Palm Springs with so many generations enjoying the atmosphere and the cozy meals. The desserts are delicious as well! I recall many family dinners there, and those are memories I will always cherish. I hope whoever purchases this place will keep it as is, with many more memories to share,” one Facebook user commented.
The restaurant is described in the listing as a major opportunity for investors with major value-add opportunities such as extended hours, activation of an entertainment room, upgrading bar offerings, bakery retail, potential for franchising, hosting weddings and events and converting entertainment room to a speakeasy.
According to the listing, the restaurant’s annual sales exceed $7 million. Lyle said based on his experience and the opportunity Billy Reed’s represents, he expected the restaurant to sell quickly.