The Pinch Points
Why Ghost-Kitchen Operators Come to Us Instead of Their Bank
A ghost kitchen runs lean but lives on platforms that take a cut and pay on a delay, while every new brand is spend before it earns. Sound familiar?
The Delivery-Platform Payout Delay
Delivery platforms pay out on a delay and take 15–30% off the top; the operation carries the gap between the order fired and the deposit landing.
The Lean Kitchen Build-Out
A delivery-only kitchen still needs the line, hood, and walk-in — $60K–$150K in equipment, even without a dining room.
The Multi-Brand Scaling
The ghost-kitchen model is running several virtual brands from one kitchen; each new brand is menu development, packaging, and marketing carried before it earns.
The Marketing-to-Order Spend
Visibility on the platforms is paid placement and promotions — marketing spent ahead of the orders it generates.
The Capacity-to-Volume Gap
Scaling order volume means more stations, staff, and equipment, added before the delivery revenue catches up.
Adding Kitchens or Buying an Operation
A second ghost-kitchen location or acquiring another operation is a $150K–$800K move that won't wait on a slow approval queue.
What an operator said
“We were running four virtual brands out of one kitchen but the platform payouts always lagged our costs — we were growing and cash-poor at the same time. The working line bridged it, and we've launched two more brands since.”
J. Kim · ghost kitchen operator · Los Angeles, CA
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 Ghost Kitchens
Working Capital for the Platform Payout Gap
An unsecured, revenue-based working line carries the operation through the delay between orders fired and platform deposits landing.
Build-Out & Equipment Financing With §179
Finance the lean delivery kitchen — line, hood, walk-in; §179 writes off the equipment the year it's in service.
Capital to Launch Virtual Brands
Financing the menu development, packaging, and launch marketing lets you add brands without pulling from the kitchens already running.
Revenue-Based Multi-Kitchen & Acquisition Capital
Add a kitchen or acquire an operation on revenue-based, capital-stacked financing — not an SBA queue.
Match Your Situation
The Cash-Flow Gaps We Fund for Ghost Kitchens
Match your situation to the structure. Every one of these funds on the operation's revenue, not a perfect credit file.
| What It Looks Like | Funding Solution | Amount | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No-dining-room model | Banks don't understand a kitchen with no dining room | Revenue-Based Financing | $75K–$5M+ | 1–3 days |
| Platform payout delay | Platforms take a cut and pay on a delay | Working Capital | $75K–$5M+ | 1–3 days |
| Brand-launch spend | Each virtual brand is spend before it earns | Working Capital | $75K–$5M+ | 1–3 days |
The Products
How Ghost Kitchen Financing Is Structured
Most ghost-kitchen files fund between $75K and $5M+, structured to the build-out and the platform-payout gap 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 | Line, hood, walk-in, prep stations | 3–7 days | Equipment serves as collateral |
| Working Capital | $75K–$5M+ | 6mo–10yr | Platform-payout gap and labor | 1–3 days | Often unsecured, revenue-based |
| Business LOC | $75K–$5M+ | Revolving | Recurring marketing and brand-launch draws | 1–5 days | Unsecured line, no PG by default |
| Revenue-Based Financing | $75K–$5M+ | 6mo–24mo | Bridging the platform payout delay | 1–3 days | Repays as a share of daily card sales |
Tax Strategy
Section 179 on the Kitchen Build-Out — 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
“A ghost kitchen is a restaurant stripped down to its cash-flow engine — no dining room, no front of house, just a kitchen and a dependence on delivery platforms that take their cut and pay you when they get around to it. The operators who win the model run several virtual brands out of one build and scale on volume, which takes capital deployed ahead of the platform deposits. We fund the build-out — §179 returns roughly $34,040 on $92K — and a working line that carries the gap between the order and the payout. Run the brands, scale the volume, and grow on order count instead of on whenever the platforms decide to pay.”
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 ghost kitchen 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
Ghost Kitchen & Virtual Brand Financing
A Restaurant Stripped to Its Cash-Flow Engine
A ghost kitchen runs lean on real estate and heavy on platform dependence. There's no dining room to build, but every dollar of revenue arrives through delivery platforms that take 15–30% off the top and pay on their own schedule. The model wins by running several virtual brands out of one build and scaling on order volume — which takes capital deployed ahead of the platform deposits, on the build-out, the marketing, and the equipment. A bank doesn't know what to make of a kitchen with no dining room; the next brand launch doesn't wait for it to figure it out.
One Application, 70+ Lenders
We fund ghost kitchens on the operation's revenue, not a perfect credit file — a working line that carries the gap between orders fired and platform deposits landing, build-out and equipment financing with §179 on the gear, and capital to launch new virtual brands. Adding a kitchen or acquiring an operation stacks revenue-based instead of an SBA queue. One application, 70+ lenders, soft-pull review.
Common Questions
Ghost Kitchen Financing — Questions, Answered
Yes — an unsecured, revenue-based line carries the gap between orders fired and platform deposits landing.
Yes — equipment financing covers the line, hood, and walk-in, written off the year in service.
Yes — financing covers the menu development, packaging, and launch marketing.
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 — stacked revenue-based on the operation, not an SBA 7(a) loan.
Recommended Funding