Brookmont Funding, a small-business funding broker in Terre Haute, Indiana, helps Vigo County restaurant and food service owners compare equipment financing, working capital, lines of credit and merchant cash advances (not a loan). Vigo County had 248 food service and drinking place employer establishments in 2023 (CBP). Partners, not the South 6th Street office, decide and price.
| Food service employers | 248 in Vigo County, 2023 (CBP) |
|---|---|
| Restaurants and eating places | 195 of them, 4,820 employees |
| Under five employees | 19.0% of restaurants (CBP 2023) |
| Common structures | Kitchen and POS equipment, payroll gaps, revolving lines |
| Watch for | Advances quoted as loans; daily debits |
Food service in Vigo County, Indiana
Vigo County had 248 food services and drinking places with employees in 2023, employing 5,422 people with an annual payroll of about $98.9 million (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). Of those, 195 were restaurants and other eating places, with 4,820 employees and about $86.3 million in payroll.
Separately, 95 food service businesses had no paid employees in 2024, 29 of them restaurants or other eating places (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024). That is a different program and year, so the counts should not be added.
Accommodation and food services also ranked fifth in the ZIP code around our own address, 47807, with 55 employer establishments (Census ZIP Business Patterns 2023).
Restaurants here are big employers
Only 19.0 percent of Vigo County's restaurants and other eating places had fewer than five employees in 2023, against 46.3 percent of all employers in the county. In plain terms, the typical restaurant carries a much bigger payroll than the typical local business, and labor is the bill that cannot wait.
That is why payroll timing comes up so often. Card batches settle on their own schedule, food suppliers want paying on delivery or within days, and staff are paid on a fixed calendar. A working capital loan suits a one-off squeeze, such as covering wages while a large catering invoice is outstanding. A revolving line suits gaps that come back.
Kitchen equipment and POS systems
Ranges, fryers, combi ovens, hoods, walk-in coolers, dish machines and point-of-sale systems are classic candidates for equipment financing, where the equipment itself secures the funding. POS system financing often takes the form of a lease, because the hardware dates quickly and software is billed separately. Read who owns the terminals at the end and whether the software subscription is bundled in.
Delivery, installation, ventilation work and staff training are the soft costs of a kitchen project, and partners treat them differently from the hardware. Our soft costs article explains how to plan for them.
A line of credit for a restaurant
A restaurant line of credit works best for recurring, unpredictable costs: an emergency repair, a large food order before a booked event, a week of slow covers. You draw what you need and repay it when sales recover. Partners usually want to see several months of steady deposits and a clean bank account before offering one, and they may review the line at renewal.
Opening night is still ahead: funding a new restaurant
Opening a restaurant is harder to fund than expanding one, because a partner has no sales history to review. Owners usually combine their own capital with equipment financing on the kitchen and, where a partner will consider it, a term loan for the build-out, backed by a detailed plan and personal credit. Expect questions about the lease, the menu, the projected covers and how much of your own money is going in.
Free help writing projections is available locally; our Terre Haute, IN page explains where to look, and the build-out paperwork is covered in the contractor checklist on our guides page.
Adding a room or a second site
Expansion requests from established restaurants are a different conversation from a start-up. A partner can see years of card sales and deposits, and the question becomes whether the new room or second site will add enough covers to carry the new payment. A build-out or second location usually points to a term loan, with the kitchen equipment financed separately. Bring the current location's statements and the projected numbers for the new one.
Advance offers aimed at busy dining rooms
Because restaurants take a lot of card payments, they are frequent targets for merchant cash advance offers. An advance is not a loan: a funder buys part of your future receipts and collects it daily. It can be quick, but it is often expensive, and daily collection hits hardest in slow weeks. Compare it with the other options before signing.
Documents restaurants are usually asked for
- Bank statements plus card processor statements for recent months
- Tax returns or year-to-date profit and loss
- The lease, with how long is left on it
- Equipment quotes, for an equipment request
- A list of existing loans and advances
Permits and inspections for a new or remodeled kitchen are a separate matter to sort out with the relevant offices before work starts.
See all the industries we cover, or call to talk through your own kitchen.
By Brookmont Funding ยท Updated