How Much Does It Cost to Open a Restaurant in Markham? What Sellers Are Asking (2026)

Most "cost to open a restaurant" articles quote averages nobody can check. We are not going to do that. What we can publish is the number the market itself puts on entry: the asking prices of the 20 restaurant and café businesses currently listed for sale on our own for-sale board. Every figure below comes from a live listing you can click through and read, as of August 20, 2026.

The market at a glance

Of the 20 food-service businesses for sale across Markham and Richmond Hill, 18 carry a public asking price. They range from $70,000 to $3,940,000, with a median of $268,500. One caveat on that top number: the $3.94M listing on Main Street Unionville includes the mixed-use building itself. Setting property purchases aside, the operating businesses on the board run roughly $70,000 to $1.2 million.

Under $200,000: the entry point

The lower band is mostly compact, fully equipped spaces where the price buys the build-out and the lease, not a book of business.

• $70,000 — a compact, fully equipped restaurant on Yonge Street in downtown Richmond Hill, sale of business only. View the listing →
• $100,000 — a renovated corner property on Nipigon Ave described in the listing as ready for business. View the listing →
• $129,000 — a long-running cake shop at 3621 Highway 7 in Markham. View the listing →
• $149,900 — two businesses sold together at one Yonge Street address in Richmond Hill. View the listing →
• $180,000 — a turn-key restaurant at Markham Rd & 14th Ave. View the listing →

$200,000–$450,000: established operations

The middle band — where the market's median sits — is running businesses with equipment, leases, and customers in place.

• $199,000 — a bubble tea shop in Commerce Gate plaza on Highway 7. View the listing →
• $249,000 — a wing restaurant on Highway 7 whose listing includes a commercial hood system and walk-in fridge and cooler. View the listing →
• $288,000 — a barbecue takeout on Kennedy Rd; the listing cites a new 10-year lease. View the listing →
• $309,000 — a restaurant at Kennedy Rd & Highway 7. View the listing →
• $350,000 — a renovated 2,700 sq ft corner restaurant and lounge at Bathurst & Elgin Mills, with two patios per the listing. View the listing →
• $425,000 — a turn-key restaurant space in an Elgin Mills Rd E plaza. View the listing →

The top of the market

At $1,200,000, a licensed Chinese fine-dining restaurant near Highway 7 & Leslie (listing →). And the outlier: $3,940,000 for a Main Street Unionville restaurant sold together with its mixed-use building (listing →) — a property purchase as much as a business one.

Why "turn-key" is the word that matters

It appears in listing after listing above, and it is why buying beats building for many first-time owners: a commercial hood, walk-in refrigeration, and a signed lease are exactly the pieces that are slow and expensive to create from a bare shell. An asking price on an equipped space is, in effect, the market's quote for skipping that work. What we will not do is put our own dollar figure on a from-scratch build-out — we have no source for one, so we do not print one.

What these numbers do not include

Asking prices are a starting point, not the whole bill. Rent, staffing, inventory, working capital, and any franchise fees sit on top, and they vary by deal — verify them with the seller, the landlord, and your accountant before committing. What these listings do give you, unlike a made-up average, is a real floor and ceiling for what entry into this market costs today.

Browse all businesses for sale, or the full Markham directory to study the market you would be entering.

Data verification: every business named in this article is a record in the MarkhamBusiness.com directory, and every number is computed from those records as of August 20, 2026. Details change — each linked page carries the current record. Run a business that belongs here? Claim or add your listing.