This article from Sableport Capital Group in DeLand, Florida answers what financing options a bar or taproom has: equipment financing, term loans for remodels and purchases, lines of credit, working capital and merchant cash advances. It uses Volusia County, FL Census counts for drinking places and invented worked figures for each option.
The Short Answer on Bar Business Financing Options
A bar's needs fall into purchases and gaps. Purchases, such as a draft system, walk-in cooler, ice machine or a full remodel, last for years and suit equipment financing or a term loan. Gaps, such as a beer distributor's invoice due before the weekend's card sales settle, come back every week and suit a line of credit. Buying an existing pub is its own purchase, financed with a term loan read on the seller's records.
A merchant cash advance against card sales is the fifth option, and the costliest to misjudge, because its price is fixed at signing. The restaurant page covers kitchens; this article covers the bar side.
Drinking Places in the Volusia County, FL Business Counts
Drinking places, the Census group for bars, taverns and taprooms serving alcohol, counted 78 employer establishments in Volusia County, FL in 2023, with 903 employees and $17.4 million in payroll; 44.9% had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns 2023). Nonemployer Statistics counted 59 drinking places without paid employees for 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024).
Accommodation and food services as a whole counted 1,373 employer establishments in the county (County Business Patterns 2023). A bar that also serves food is counted with restaurants instead when food is its main line.
Bar Equipment Financing Companies and What They Fund
Illustration only, invented figures: a $34,000 draft system with a glycol chiller, a walk-in cooler and an ice machine, financed over 60 months at an invented 10% annual rate, comes to about $722 a month (our arithmetic). The equipment secures the loan.
- Draft and glycol systems.
- Walk-in and reach-in coolers.
- Ice machines and glass washers.
- Point-of-sale terminals and sound systems.
Our equipment page weighs a draft-system loan against a lease.
How to Finance Buying a Pub or Taproom
Illustration only, invented figures: a buyer pays $260,000 for a running pub's business, fixtures and equipment, puts $39,000 down and finances $221,000 over 84 months at an invented 10.5% annual rate, about $3,726 a month (our arithmetic). The building, if it is sold too, is a real estate question outside this site.
- The seller's three years of returns and twelve months of bank and card statements.
- Sales by category: draft, packaged, liquor and food.
- The bar's lease, with the landlord's written OK to hand it to the buyer.
- An equipment list with ages.
- A plan for the liquor license transfer, confirmed with the state.
How to Get a Loan for a Bar: What a Reviewer Reads
Card settlements are the clearest record a bar has, so a reviewer reads card-processor statements beside bank statements. Pour costs, distributor invoices, payroll and rent come next. A bar with a kitchen adds food costs. Cash sales that never reach the bank are invisible to a reviewer, which is a reason to deposit them.
Keep the records for a counter-service kitchen inside the bar separate where possible; the restaurant page covers kitchen equipment.
The Weekly Supplier Gap and a Line of Credit
Illustration only, invented figures: a taproom pays $6,800 in distributor invoices and $9,400 in wages each week, $16,200 in all (our arithmetic), with card settlements arriving after the weekend. On a $40,000 line, a $16,200 draw repaid after 12 days costs about $69 in interest at an invented 13% annual rate (our arithmetic).
The line of credit page explains draws, paydowns and renewals.
Pub Business Loan Costs Set Against a Card-Sales Advance
Unlike a line, a card-sales advance is not a loan at all. Illustration only, invented figures: a $25,000 advance at a factor of 1.3 means $32,500 is collected from card sales, a cost of $7,500 (our arithmetic), whether the total is reached in three months or eight.
Set that dollar cost beside the interest on a line or a working capital loan for the same sum before choosing.
How to Get a Business Loan for a Bar Around DeLand, FL
- Decide whether the need is a purchase or a recurring gap.
- Gather twelve months of bank and card statements.
- Get equipment quotes or the purchase agreement.
- List every loan, lease and advance in place.
- Then call (386) 251-7491, or open the request form for the bar.
A Remodel Without Closing the Doors
A remodel that closes a bar for weeks stops the card settlements that pay for everything else. Phasing the work, a patio first and the bar top later, keeps revenue coming. A term loan for the remodel and a line for the slower weeks during it can sit side by side; a reviewer reads how sales held during any earlier closure. Check city permits before the work starts.
By Sableport Capital Group · Updated
