Restaurant financing covers payroll and food-cost gaps, kitchen equipment such as walk-in coolers and POS systems, and remodels or new locations. Glenford Financial, a small-business funding broker in San Angelo, TX, helps Tom Green County food service owners compare lines of credit, equipment financing, term loans and merchant cash advances, which are not loans; lending partners set all terms.
| Food service employers | 284 in Tom Green County (CBP 2023) |
|---|---|
| Restaurants and eating places | 224, employing 4,741 people (CBP 2023) |
| Fewer than 5 employees | 19.2% of restaurants, against 49.1% of all county employers (CBP 2023) |
| No-employee food service firms | 212 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024) |
| Funding to compare | Line of credit, equipment financing, term loan |
| Who decides | Lending partners, not Glenford Financial |
Food service in Tom Green County, by the numbers
| Group | Establishments | Paid employees | Annual payroll | Under 5 employees (share) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food services and drinking places | 284 | 5,328 | $109.4 million | 23.9% |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 224 | 4,741 | $95.0 million | 19.2% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; employees for the pay period including March 12. A further 212 food service businesses in the county had no paid employees in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024), a different program and year. In ZIP 76903, the office ZIP, 121 employer establishments were in accommodation and food services, a group that also includes lodging (U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023).
Payroll sets the pace
Restaurants here are larger employers than most local businesses. Only 19.2 percent of the county's restaurant establishments had fewer than five employees, against 49.1 percent of all employer establishments, and the 224 restaurants averaged about 21 paid employees each (County Business Patterns 2023). That makes payroll the fixed cost that every slow week has to cover.
A restaurant line of credit fits that pattern: draw to meet payroll or a large food order when sales dip, pay it down when they recover. Restaurant working capital in a lump sum fits a single, known gap, such as the weeks before a catering contract pays. Sizing a one-time cash gap is explained separately.
Food costs and supplier terms
Food is bought every few days and paid for on short supplier terms, often a week or two, while card sales settle into the bank account a day or two after each shift. Most of the time those flows roughly match. They stop matching when sales drop for a few weeks, when a large catering order needs ingredients up front, or when a supplier tightens terms. Ask your main suppliers for longer terms before borrowing; that costs nothing if they agree.
Perishable stock is rarely financed on its own, because it cannot sit as collateral. Short food-cost gaps are usually carried by a line of credit drawn for the order and paid down from the following week's sales. If those draws start to cover every week rather than unusual ones, the issue is likely menu pricing or food cost, not funding.
Ovens, walk-ins and point-of-sale systems
Ovens, ranges, fryers, hoods, dish machines, walk-in coolers and freezers are financed the same way as other equipment: the equipment secures the financing, and the term should match how long it will last. For walk-in cooler financing, ask whether installation, electrical work and the condensing unit are included in the financed amount, since those can be a large share of the cost.
POS system financing deserves a careful read. Some POS packages bundle hardware, software subscriptions and card processing into one contract, and leaving early can mean paying out the rest. Ask what each part costs, what happens if you change processors, and when the contract ends. See how kitchen equipment loans and leases compare.
Remodels and a second location
A dining-room remodel, a new kitchen line or a second location is a one-time project with a price, which usually points to a term loan. Partners will look at how the existing restaurant performs and how the project adds revenue, so bring sales history and contractor quotes.
Funding a restaurant that has not opened yet
A brand-new restaurant has no sales history, and most funding types in this list are sized on history. Equipment financing is often the most accessible piece, because the equipment secures it. Owner investment usually covers much of the rest, and lenders that make SBA-backed loans are another route for new businesses. Before talking to anyone, test the numbers with the startup loan payment calculator and its break-even steps and put them into a plan using the business plan guide.
Advance offers aimed at card-heavy restaurants
Restaurants with steady card sales receive merchant cash advance offers often. An advance is not a loan: the funder buys part of future card receipts and collects a share every day, which can take a large bite from a thin food-service margin. Before accepting, check how much of each day's sales the remittance would take with the MCA revenue coverage calculator, and compare the dollar cost with a line of credit. The merchant cash advance page covers holdbacks, reconciliation and default.
What partners review, and Glenford Financial's part
- Recent business bank statements and card-processing statements
- Sales history by month, ideally from the POS system
- Equipment quotes, or contractor bids for a remodel
- The lease for the location
- Existing loans and advances
We help you match the need to a funding type and send the request to partners that fund restaurants. For other sectors see funding by industry; for local figures, the San Angelo, TX page.
By Glenford Financial · Updated