Driftwater Loans, a small-business funding service in Fort Myers, Florida, answers how a Lee County restaurant can get financing: matching the funding type to the cost, the records partners read, a worked comparison of an advance and a loan, and buying a restaurant.
The Short Answer for a Lee County, FL Restaurant
To get financing for a restaurant, start with what the money pays for. A cook line or walk-in fits equipment financing, secured by the equipment. Food, payroll and rent in a slow stretch fit working capital or a line of credit. A remodel, a patio or buying another restaurant fits a term loan. A merchant cash advance, which is not a loan, is the option to compare last, in total dollars. Then gather card processing statements, bank statements, the lease and the latest tax return, and ask partners for offers.
The restaurant page sets out each option in more detail.
Eating Places With Payrolls in Lee County, FL
Lee County, FL had 1,317 restaurants and other eating places with paid employees in 2023, with 28,185 employees and $680.4 million in annual payroll (County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 7225). 692 were full-service restaurants and 472 limited-service. Payroll per employee came to about $24,141 (CBP 2023, our arithmetic). Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program, counted 634 eating places without paid employees in 2024.
Those counts include everything from a breakfast counter to a waterfront dining room, and their financing needs differ by size and by how much of their revenue arrives on cards.
How to Get Financing for a Restaurant? What Lee County, FL Owners Should Know
Partners read a restaurant's file in a set order: card processing statements to see daily sales, bank statements to see what reaches the account and what leaves it, the lease to see how long the restaurant can stay, and existing payments, including any advance being collected. A restaurant with a long lease, steady card volume and no stacked advances gives a partner the clearest case.
A short lease is a hard limit on term: few partners lend beyond the time the restaurant is sure to occupy the space.
How to Fund a Restaurant? Answers for Fort Myers, FL Owners
| Cost | Funding type | What secures it |
|---|---|---|
| Cook line, hood, walk-in | Equipment loan or lease | The equipment |
| Food, payroll and rent gap | Working capital or line of credit | Deposits, business assets, personal guarantee |
| Remodel, patio, second site | Term loan | Business assets, personal guarantee |
| Buying a restaurant | Term loan | Business assets, personal guarantee |
| Card-heavy need for cash now | Merchant cash advance (not a loan) | A share of future receipts |
Equipment financing and working capital pages explain each structure.
Worked Example: An Advance Against a Working Capital Loan
Illustration only, invented figures: a Fort Myers, FL restaurant needs $40,000. In this invented example, a merchant cash advance at a factor of 1.32 means $52,800 is collected from card sales, a cost of $12,800. In this invented example, a 12-month working capital loan at 16% a year means payments of about $3,629 and about $3,551 in interest.
In this invented example the loan costs about $9,249 less in total, but the advance adjusts with card sales while the loan payment is fixed. Which suits the restaurant depends on how steady its sales are and whether it qualifies for the loan. The merchant cash advance page explains how factors and holdbacks work.
How to Get Restaurant Funding? A Fort Myers, FL Walk-Through
- Write down the purpose, the amount and when the money comes back.
- Export twelve months of card processing statements.
- Gather bank statements, the lease and the latest return.
- Get quotes for any equipment or contractor estimates for a remodel.
- Phone (239) 453-0635, or fill in the Driftwater form with the purpose.
- Compare offers by total cost, payment, security and early payoff.
How Do Restaurants Get Funding? Answers for Fort Myers, FL Owners
Established restaurants get funding mostly from the business's own record: sales history, a lease with years left and a clean payment history on past equipment or loans. Equipment finance companies fund kitchens against the equipment; banks and other lenders fund remodels and purchases against the restaurant's earnings; advance funders buy future card receipts. Driftwater does not arrange startup loans, so a restaurant that has not opened yet falls outside these options.
How to Buy a Restaurant? What Partners Look At in Fort Myers, FL
Buying a restaurant buys its lease, equipment, staff and customers, and sometimes a liquor license. Partners read the seller's tax returns and card statements for several years, the purchase price and how it was set, the lease's remaining term and assignment clause, and an equipment list with ages. The buyer's own restaurant experience matters too. A term loan covers the purchase, sometimes with the seller carrying part of the price as a note.
How to Buy a Restaurant Lease and Equipment? Practical Notes for Lee County, FL
Some purchases are an asset sale: the buyer takes over the lease and buys the equipment and fixtures, without the seller's company. Get the landlord's written consent to the assignment before closing, have the equipment inspected, and check that no lender or advance funder has a lien on it. A partner funding the purchase will ask for each of those.
Sector-by-sector Census counts for the county sit on the Fort Myers, FL page.
By Driftwater Loans · Updated
