Restaurant financing covers kitchen equipment, point-of-sale systems, remodels, payroll and new openings, usually through equipment financing, working capital or a term loan. Silvershore Funding Group, a small-business funding broker in Flagstaff, Arizona, explains the fit for each need and connects Coconino County restaurants with lending partners, who make credit decisions and set rates and terms.
| Food service employers | 437 in Coconino County (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023) |
|---|---|
| Restaurants and other eating places | 355 (same source) |
| Paid employees in food service | 9,614 in March 2023 (same source) |
| Share with fewer than 5 employees | 20.4%, against 52.8% of all county employers |
| Options that often fit | Equipment financing, working capital, term loans |
| Who decides | Lending partners, not Silvershore Funding Group |
Coconino County food service by the numbers
| Measure | Food services and drinking places | Restaurants and other eating places |
|---|---|---|
| Employer establishments, 2023 | 437 | 355 |
| Paid employees, March 2023 | 9,614 | 7,899 |
| Annual payroll, 2023 | $267.1 million | $224.7 million |
| Share with fewer than 5 employees | 20.4% | 18.9% |
| Businesses with no employees, 2024 | 144 | 34 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (first four rows); U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024 (last row). Different programs and years: do not add the rows together. The wider accommodation and food services sector employed 14,573 people in the county, more than any other sector (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023).
Payroll is the biggest recurring cost
Restaurants here are larger employers than the typical local business. The county's 355 restaurants and other eating places averaged roughly 22 paid employees each in March 2023, against about 13 for all employer establishments (derived from County Business Patterns 2023 counts). Only 18.9 percent had fewer than five employees.
That makes payroll timing the core working capital question for a restaurant. A slow fortnight, a delayed catering payment or a large repair can leave a payroll uncovered even in a profitable business. Working capital financing or a restaurant line of credit can carry a payroll across a gap with a clear end. If payroll regularly outruns sales, more financing is not the fix; pricing, hours and menu costs are.
Kitchen equipment, walk-in coolers and POS systems
Commercial kitchens are equipment-heavy, and most of that equipment can be financed on its own with the equipment as collateral:
- ranges, combination ovens, fryers and hood systems;
- walk-in coolers and freezers, ice machines and reach-ins;
- dish machines and prep equipment;
- point-of-sale terminals, kitchen display systems and related hardware.
Walk-in cooler financing and POS system financing are usually arranged through equipment financing: a loan, a lease or an equipment finance agreement. For POS hardware that will be outdated in a few years, a lease may make more sense than buying; for a walk-in that will run for many years, ownership usually does. Read whether a lease ends with a nominal buyout or at fair market value.
Remodels and second locations
A dining room remodel, a patio build-out or a second location is a one-time project with a known budget, which usually fits a term loan. Partners look at the budget and contractor quotes, the existing location's revenue history, and how the project will pay for itself. Equipment for the new space can be financed separately, which can keep the term loan smaller.
How to fund a new restaurant
Opening a restaurant from scratch is the hardest case for financing. Without sales history, partners lean on the owner's credit, personal resources and industry experience, and many will want the owner to put in a meaningful share of the cost. Equipment financing is often easier to obtain than general startup funding, because the equipment secures it. A detailed plan, with a lease, build-out quotes and realistic sales projections, makes any request stronger. Free help with that plan is available from the Arizona SBDC network; our Northern Arizona resources guide lists the local centre.
Card sales and advance offers
Restaurants that take cards every day are frequent targets for merchant cash advance offers. A merchant cash advance is not a loan: a funder buys part of your future card receipts and collects them until an agreed total is remitted. Before accepting one, write down what you will receive, what you will remit in total and roughly how long it will take at real daily sales, and compare that with working capital or a line of credit.
What partners usually review for restaurants
- business bank statements and card-processing statements;
- sales history and how it varies from month to month;
- the lease, including its remaining term;
- equipment quotes or the project budget;
- existing debts, advances and liens;
- business and owner credit.
County figures for the other confirmed sectors are under financing by industry, and local data is on our Flagstaff page.
By Silvershore Funding Group · Updated