🎯 The business: used commercial kitchen equipment (ranges, fryers, mixers, refrigeration, prep tables, ice machines) bought from restaurant closures and auctions in the U.S., cleaned and tested, and sold by the container to restaurant supply dealers and restaurateurs in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica. Cheap to source, prized abroad, short shipping lanes.
Restaurant equipment dealers in the capital cities, hotel and restaurant groups opening locations, and individual restaurateurs who find you on social media. A used six-burner range that costs $800 to $1,500 at a U.S. auction sells for $2,500 to $4,000 delivered; a 20-foot container of mixed equipment carries $25,000 to $50,000 of retail value. Dealers buy containers; restaurateurs buy pieces from the dealer.
| LLC and insurance | $1,200 |
| Auction accounts, a van or trailer, a small warehouse bay | $2,000 to $6,000 |
| Cleaning, testing and minor repair tools, a refrigeration tech on call | $1,500 |
| First container of inventory | $12,000 to $20,000 |
| Spanish catalog, WhatsApp Business, Gold Key in Guatemala City or San José | $3,500 |
| All-in | ≈ $20,000 to $32,000 |
Learn the restaurant auction calendar in your region and what sells abroad (gas equipment, stainless prep, refrigeration that runs on their voltage; skip anything 208-volt three-phase unless the buyer confirms). Set up a bay to clean and test. Photograph everything clean, running, with model plates. Find two dealers per country through the Commercial Service and the restaurant associations. Sell the first container as a mixed lot at a dealer price.
A container bought for $15,000 at auction, cleaned and tested for $2,000, shipped for $4,000 and sold to a dealer for $36,000 leaves about $15,000. One container a month is a strong small business; two is a company with a warehouse and a technician. Refrigeration carries the best margin and the most risk; gas ranges are the safest volume.
Refrigerant rules on both ends (U.S. EPA rules for recovering refrigerant before shipping some units; destination restrictions on certain refrigerants), electrical standards and voltage, the CAFTA-DR trade agreement for duty reductions on U.S.-origin equipment, electronic export filing, and wood-packaging rules. Used equipment imports are generally allowed in these countries but your buyer’s customs agent should confirm each category.
A compressor that fails after the voyage. A container packed by someone who had never loaded one, arriving as a pile. A dealer who pays for half and disputes the rest. Hurricane season at Caribbean ports. The exporters who last test everything under power, load containers with a professional, insure the cargo, and sell to dealers they have met in person.