The Pinch Points
Why Café & Coffee Shop Owners Come to Us Instead of Their Bank
A café carries five-figure equipment and a build-out on a thin per-cup ticket that only works on volume. Sound familiar?
The Espresso & Brewing Equipment
A commercial espresso machine, grinders, and brewing equipment run $20K–$60K — the gear that defines the cup and the throughput.
The Café Build-Out
The counter, seating, and the design that make a café a destination run $80K–$250K before the first pour.
The Roasting Investment
Roasting in-house — a roaster, green-bean inventory, packaging — is $40K–$120K, the move that turns a café into a brand and a wholesale revenue stream.
The Bean & Supply Inventory
Green and roasted beans, milk, and supplies tie up cash that turns into cups across the week.
The Thin-Ticket Volume Model
Café margins are made on volume and repeat traffic; payroll and rent run constant against a low average ticket.
Opening Another Location
A second café is a $150K–$700K build — equipment, build-out, and working capital, the move that turns one shop into a small chain.
What an operator said
“Our espresso setup was on its last legs and we wanted to start roasting, but doing both out of cash flow was impossible on café margins. Financing the equipment let us upgrade the machine and add a roaster — the wholesale bean business already covers the payment.”
E. Hoffmann · café & roaster · Portland, OR
Start Here
See Your Range in 60 Seconds
No credit check, no documents to start, and an estimated funding range on the spot. No one contacts you until you’re ready to move forward.
What Happens When You Start
Estimate Your Capital Range
Slide to your annual gross revenue. We size capital off your top line — not your credit score.
Estimated Capital Range
A conservative range based on 10-15% of annual revenue — many businesses qualify for more with strong receivables or assets behind them. Lenders return real term sheets once they see your file.
60 seconds · No obligation · Estimate only
Built for the Trade
What We Fund for Cafés & Coffee Shops
Equipment Financing With §179
Put the gear on financing the year it's in service — the machine, grinders, and roaster are the collateral, and §179 writes off the cost.
Build-Out Financing for the Space
Fund the room itself on the café's revenue — the build-out and fixtures that turn a storefront into somewhere people choose to linger.
Working Capital for Supplies & Payroll
An unsecured, revenue-based working line funds the bean inventory and the payroll on a thin-ticket, high-volume model.
Revenue-Based Multi-Location & Acquisition Capital
Open another café or acquire a shop on revenue-based, capital-stacked financing — not an SBA queue.
Match Your Situation
The Cash-Flow Gaps We Fund for Cafés & Coffee Shops
Match your situation to the structure. Every one of these funds on the café's revenue, not a perfect credit file.
| What It Looks Like | Funding Solution | Amount | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment + build-out | Banks won't finance a café's equipment and build-out | Equipment & Revenue-Based | $75K–$5M+ | 3–7 days |
| Five-figure gear | An espresso machine and roaster are five-figure buys | Equipment Financing | $75K–$5M+ | 3–7 days |
| Thin tickets | Thin tickets leave no buffer for a slow stretch | Working Capital | $75K–$5M+ | 1–3 days |
The Products
How Café & Coffee Shop Financing Is Structured
Most café files fund between $75K and $5M+, structured to the equipment and the build-out in front of you. Larger lines available when revenue, cash flow, and story qualify.
| Amount | Term | Best For | Funding Speed | Typical Structure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment Financing | $75K–$5M+ | 3yr–7yr | Espresso machine, grinders, roaster, build-out | 3–7 days | Equipment serves as collateral |
| Working Capital | $75K–$5M+ | 6mo–10yr | Bean inventory and payroll on thin tickets | 1–3 days | Often unsecured, revenue-based |
| Business LOC | $75K–$5M+ | Revolving | Ongoing supply and seasonal draws | 1–5 days | Unsecured line, no PG by default |
| Revenue-Based Financing | $75K–$5M+ | 6mo–24mo | Opening or acquiring another location | 1–3 days | Repays as a share of daily card sales |
Tax Strategy
Section 179 on the Espresso Machine & Roaster — Worked
If last year was strong and you’re about to write a check to the IRS — stop. Acquire qualifying equipment with as little as 10% down, finance the rest, and write off the full purchase price in year one. Section 179 covers it up to the annual cap; 100% bonus depreciation — made permanent in 2025, with no cap and no income limit — carries the rest.
At the top bracket, that first-year deduction can return meaningful tax savings — and for an established business with strong cash flow, it’s the difference between writing a check to the IRS and putting the same money into your own equipment. Your CPA models the exact numbers for your bracket and structure.
Worked scenario · top bracket · illustrative
You financed the machine and put down a fraction of its price — but you deduct the full price in year one. The write-off is bigger than your down payment, and the equipment keeps working the whole time.
Scales with your numbers
Illustrative only. Actual savings depend on your tax bracket, entity type, state conformity, and CPA guidance. Section 179 and bonus depreciation are elections your CPA makes for your situation; above the Section 179 cap, 100% bonus depreciation carries the balance.
Terms reflect credit, revenue, time in business, and each lender. Every file is unique — see what the desk structures for yours in the 60-second qualifier.
Bobby’s Take
“People underestimate how much capital a café actually takes — the espresso machine alone can run what a used car costs, the build-out is what makes people choose your shop over the chain down the block, and if you roast your own beans you've just added a second business with its own equipment and inventory. And all of it sits on a thin per-cup ticket that only works on volume. The café owners who grow into a second and third location finance the equipment and build-out instead of bootstrapping each one. We fund the gear — §179 returns roughly $39,960 on $108K — and the build-out that fills the seats. Build the room people want to sit in, and pour from equipment you didn't have to drain the register to buy.”
Bobby Friel · Founder · 20+ years in banking and finance
How It Works
From Application to Funded
One application, 70+ lenders competing, a dedicated specialist, and most files funded in days.
60-second estimate
Enter your numbers — no credit check, no documents. You see an estimated funding range on the spot.
A specialist is assigned
A real funding specialist — not an algorithm — reviews your file, usually within 24 hours.
70+ lenders compete
Your application goes to the marketplace. Competing offers typically land 24–48 hours later.
You pick the offer
Compare structures and terms with your advisor. No obligation until you choose to sign.
Funded in days
From same-day working capital to a multi-piece stack, most files fund in days — not the bank’s 60–90.
Underwriting
What Underwriting Looks At
Funding here leads with what your business actually does — your revenue and cash flow. The specialist desk reads the real picture from your statements, then matches it to the lenders most likely to fund it.
How you’re evaluated
Revenue-first
sized off your top line, not just your balance sheet.
Cash-flow driven
your bank statements show how the business really runs.
Bank-statement underwriting
even a down year is read off 4 months of statements.
Story-driven
a big new contract, a seasonal swing, a turnaround in progress: context the raw numbers miss counts too.
What to have ready
↳Had a loss year? It’s read off the bank statements — 4 months, not 6.
Start fast, finish complete
The operators who fund quickest come to the specialist review with these ready — but you don’t need all of it to start. Your signed application and bank statements are what unblock the review; the rest can follow as trailing docs. Real term sheets come once the lenders can see a true business overview, so the move is simple: get the application and statements in right away, and don’t let a missing tax return hold up your term sheets.
Credit, straight
Qualification
Who Gets Funded — and Who’s Not Ready Yet
A straight read saves everyone time — here’s the line between a café & coffee shop file that funds and one that isn’t ready yet.
↳Time in business is a factor, not a gate — newer crews with strong revenue still qualify.
Not ready yet isn’t a no — it’s a checklist. Most of it is fixable in a quarter or two, and your advisor will tell you straight which gaps to fix before a file goes in.
The Operator's Guide
Café & Coffee Shop Financing
Five-Figure Equipment on a Thin Per-Cup Ticket
A café runs on equipment most people never think about the cost of — a commercial espresso machine and grinders that run five figures, the build-out that makes the space somewhere people want to linger, and, if you roast in-house, a roaster, green-bean inventory, and packaging that add a second business. All of it sits on a thin per-cup ticket that only works on volume, with payroll and rent running constant against a low average ticket. Banks see the margins and the build-out and pass; the lease and the espresso machine don't wait for them to reconsider.
One Application, 70+ Lenders
We fund cafés on the shop's revenue, not a perfect credit file — equipment financing for the espresso machine, grinders, and roaster with §179 on the gear, build-out financing for the counter and seating, and a working line for bean inventory and payroll. Opening another café or acquiring a shop stacks revenue-based instead of an SBA queue. One application, 70+ lenders, soft-pull review.
Common Questions
Café & Coffee Shop Financing — Questions, Answered
Yes — equipment financing covers the machine, grinders, and roaster; §179 writes them off the year in service.
Yes — build-out financing covers the counter, seating, and design on the café's revenue.
Yes — an unsecured, revenue-based line funds the supplies and payroll on a thin-ticket model.
Signed application, four months bank statements, P&L, balance sheet, two years returns; losses → four months statements. Soft credit pull only — zero FICO impact to see your range.
Yes — equipment and build-out stacked revenue-based, not an SBA 7(a) loan.
Recommended Funding