Driftwater Loans, a small-business funding service in Fort Myers, Florida, covers restaurant loans for Lee County owners: kitchen equipment financing, working capital, restaurant cash advances (not loans), food truck lending and buying a restaurant, with Lee County counts.
At a glance
- Restaurants and other eating places, Lee County, FL
1,317 (CBP 2023)
- Full-service restaurants
692 (CBP 2023)
- Restaurant paid employees (NAICS 7225)
28,185 (CBP 2023)
Card Sales Every Night, Food Bills Every Week
Restaurant loans follow three clocks: card receipts that settle daily, food and payroll paid weekly, and kitchen equipment that lasts years but fails without notice. 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 payroll (CBP 2023, NAICS 7225). Payroll per employee was about $24,141 (our arithmetic), well below the all-employer county figure of about $55,417.
Lee County, FL Kitchens by Type
| Group (NAICS) | Employers | Paid employees | Annual payroll | Payroll per employee (our arithmetic) | Under five employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants (722511) | 692 | 17,117 | $460.4 million | $26,900 | 26.9% |
| Limited-service restaurants (722513) | 472 | 9,040 | $181.8 million | $20,108 | 26.9% |
| Bars (7224) | 48 | 723 | $20.3 million | $28,109 | 27.1% |
Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program, counted 634 restaurants and other eating places without paid employees in Lee County, FL in 2024.
Loans for Restaurants
- Equipment financing: ranges, hoods, walk-ins, dish machines and point-of-sale systems.
- Working capital: food, payroll and rent in a slow stretch.
- Term loan: a remodel, a patio, a second location or buying a restaurant.
- Merchant cash advance: not a loan; a share of card receipts is sold.
Restaurant Lenders: How It Works in Fort Myers, FL
Restaurant lenders include banks, equipment finance companies and online lenders; advance funders buy card receipts rather than lend, and each reads the same file differently. All of them look at card processing statements, bank statements, the lease and its remaining term, and existing payments. A kitchen with steady card volume and a long lease gives a partner more to work with; a short lease limits the term any partner can offer.
Restaurant Cash Advance: How It Works in Fort Myers, FL
A restaurant cash advance is collected as a share of card sales, so it adjusts with the dining room. That flexibility has a price set by a factor rather than a rate. Before taking one, convert the cost to dollars and set it beside a working capital loan or a line of credit for the same amount. The advance page has a worked example.
Food Truck Loan: How It Works in Fort Myers, FL
A food truck loan finances the vehicle and its kitchen together, secured by the truck. Partners look at the chassis age and mileage, who built the kitchen, and the operator's own sales. An operating restaurant or caterer adding a truck can show that history; a brand-new truck with no sales is a startup request, which Driftwater does not arrange.
Food Truck Lender: What Lee County, FL Owners Compare
- Total of all payments and any down payment.
- Whether the loan covers the build-out as well as the chassis.
- Term against the vehicle's remaining life.
- Insurance and inspection conditions in the agreement.
Food Truck Lending for Fort Myers, FL Owners
Lee County, FL had 472 limited-service restaurants with paid employees in 2023 (CBP 2023); mobile food services are counted separately and are not in that figure. A truck can extend an existing kitchen's reach. The restaurant financing article compares the options in more depth.
Restaurant Funding: What Partners Review in Fort Myers, FL
Illustration only, invented figures: a full-service restaurant replaces a $68,000 cook line and hood with $6,800 down. In this invented example, financing $61,200 over 48 months at 10.5% a year means payments of about $1,567. In this invented example, at about $230 a day that is roughly the margin on a handful of covers each night, which is the test a partner applies too.
Records to have: card processing statements, bank statements, the lease, the equipment quote and the latest tax return.
Lease Terms That Shape a Fort Myers, FL Restaurant Loan
A restaurant's lease sets the outer limit on its funding. Partners compare the remaining term, renewal options and any landlord consent needed to assign or pledge equipment. A kitchen with three years left and two renewal options reads differently from one with eighteen months and none. If the lease is close to its end, settle the renewal before asking for a long equipment term or a remodel loan.
Taking Over a Lee County, FL Restaurant Mid-Lease
Buying a restaurant means buying its lease, equipment, recipes and staff, and sometimes a liquor license. Partners read the seller's returns and card statements for several years, the lease's remaining term and assignment clause, and an equipment list. A term loan covers the purchase; Lee County, FL figures are on the Lee County business counts page.
By Driftwater Loans · Updated