Bayrock Business Funding, a small-business funding service in Racine, Wisconsin, explains bar business loans for Racine County bars, taverns and taprooms: equipment financing for draft systems and coolers, stock and working capital, remodels, and buying a bar with its license. Census counts frame the local sector. Funding partners decide.
At a glance
- Drinking places (NAICS 7224)
68 employer establishments (CBP 2023)
- Fewer than five employees
41 of 68 (CBP 2023)
- Paid employees
379 (CBP 2023)
- Drinking places without paid employees
31 (NES 2024)
Bars and Taverns in Racine County, WI: The Counts
Bar business loans serve a trade of small operators. County Business Patterns counted 68 drinking places in Racine County, WI in 2023, and 41 of them, 60.3%, had fewer than five employees. They employed 379 people with $6.1 million in payroll, about $16,145 per employee (our arithmetic), and 16 used a ZIP 53403 address (ZBP 2023).
Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program, counted 31 drinking places without paid employees in 2024, with $2.2 million in receipts. Restaurants are counted separately and have their own page.
Business loans for bars in Racine, WI
Business loans for bars sort the same way as any business: equipment to equipment financing, stock to a short line or inventory financing, remodels and purchases to term loans. What sets bars apart is that sales are paid at the bar while beer, liquor and wine are bought ahead from distributors, sometimes on short terms, so the stock cycle drives the cash cycle.
Bar equipment financing options around Racine, WI
Bar equipment financing options include a loan, a lease, or the distributor's or manufacturer's own program for some equipment. Compare each on total dollar cost and on who owns the equipment at the end. Illustration only, invented figures: a $16,500 draft system and $12,800 of coolers come to $29,300 (our arithmetic); financed over 48 months at a 10.5% annual rate, that is about $750 a month (our arithmetic). In this invented example, the bar compares the payment with the added margin on draft sales.
Bar equipment financing: how it works in Racine, WI
- Get quotes for draft systems, glycol chillers, coolers, ice machines, dishwashers and point-of-sale.
- Ask whether installation and line work are included.
- Check the lease for landlord consent on fixed equipment.
- Send the request with recent bank and card statements.
- Compare offers in dollars and read the end-of-lease terms.
Loan for bar and restaurant for Racine County, WI businesses
A loan for a bar and restaurant together covers a kitchen as well as the bar. The kitchen equipment, hood and walk-in add to the equipment list, and food costs join the stock cycle. A partner reads card deposits, food and beverage costs and the lease. Restaurant equipment notes are on the restaurant page; the funding types are the same.
Liquor license loan for Racine, WI companies
A liquor license is part of what makes an existing bar worth buying, and its transfer is regulated. Whether a license can be pledged, and how a transfer works, are legal questions for counsel and the licensing office. For funding, the purchase agreement should state the license's role in the price and what happens if the transfer is not approved.
Taking Over a Racine County, WI Tavern: The Purchase Loan
Buying a bar is a term-loan purchase. A partner reads the seller's sales, card and cash deposits, beverage costs, the lease and the equipment list, along with the license transfer conditions. Cash-heavy sales should be visible in deposits; sales that do not show in the bank are hard for any partner to credit. Business term loans covers acquisition requests.
Bar business financing options: questions Racine, WI owners ask
- Equipment loan or lease for draft and refrigeration.
- Inventory financing or a short line for distributor orders.
- Working capital for payroll during a remodel when sales dip.
- A term loan for a remodel or a purchase.
- A merchant cash advance against card sales, which is not a loan and should be priced in total dollars.
Inventory financing and the merchant cash advance page explain the stock and card-sale options.
Ice Machines, Glass Washers and Back-Bar Equipment
Smaller equipment adds up: ice machines, under-bar glass washers, back-bar coolers, blenders, televisions and sound systems. Bundling them into one equipment agreement can make sense when they are bought together; buying them one at a time on a line keeps each purchase small. Either way, keep the invoices, because a partner financing used or bundled equipment will ask what each piece is and what it cost.
Remodels and Patios for Racine, WI Bars
A remodel or an outdoor patio is a building improvement plus furniture and equipment. Permits and the landlord's approval come first; the improvement fits a term loan and the furniture can be financed as equipment. Check the lease term against the loan term so the bar keeps the space for as long as it pays for the work.
More for Racine County, WI Food and Drink
See equipment financing for loans and leases, the Racine, WI business page for county figures, and industries for other trades.
By Bayrock Business Funding ยท Updated