Shorerock Loans, a small-business funding service in Marietta, Georgia, explains financing a restaurant purchase in Cobb County: what to check in the seller's records, how the price, equipment and working capital are funded, and county restaurant counts.
Business Loan to Buy a Restaurant for Cobb County, GA Businesses
Cobb County had 602 full-service and 751 limited-service restaurants with payroll in 2023 (County Business Patterns), together 1,353 by our sum, with 44 and 56 of them in ZIP 30060. When one sells, the buyer is paying for sales that depend on location, staff, menu and reputation, and for equipment that may or may not have years left.
Restaurant Financing for Cobb County, GA Businesses
- Monthly sales for two to three years, matched to bank deposits
- Food cost and labor cost, each as a percentage of sales
- The lease: rent, remaining term, renewal options and assignment
- Equipment list with ages and service records
- Health inspection history and permits
- Any liens on the equipment or the business
How to Fund a Restaurant?
| Piece | Funding to compare | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | Term loan plus down payment | Seller note can cover part |
| Replacement equipment | Equipment financing | New or used |
| Opening inventory | Working capital | Food and beverage stock |
| First months' payroll | Working capital or a line | Sales may dip during the change |
Restaurant Working Capital Around Marietta, GA
Illustration only, invented figures: a restaurant doing $85,000 a month changes hands, and the buyer plans for sales at 90% of that, or $76,500, for the first three months (our arithmetic). If costs stay near $80,000 a month, the shortfall is $3,500 a month, $10,500 over three months, before any equipment repairs. That figure belongs in the request.
Restaurant Supply Financing: How It Works in Marietta, GA
Kitchen equipment can be financed with the items as security through equipment financing; small wares and opening food stock are paid from working capital. Ask suppliers about payment terms, since a new owner may start on shorter terms than the seller had.
Restaurant Financing Options: What Cobb County, GA Owners Compare
Owners compare a term loan for the price, equipment financing for replacements and working capital for the transition. A card-heavy restaurant may also be offered a merchant cash advance; it is a purchase of future receipts, not a loan, so total its cost before agreeing.
Before closing
Walk the kitchen with a service technician, confirm the lease assignment in writing, and check that permits can move to you. More on the restaurant page; county data on the Marietta, GA page. Want to run the numbers on a purchase? Start a request.
What to ask a Marietta, GA restaurant seller before an offer
- Why are you selling?
- Which staff will stay, and who runs the kitchen?
- What equipment has been repaired in the last two years?
- Are suppliers owed anything at closing?
- Does the landlord agree to the assignment?
The payroll a Cobb County, GA restaurant buyer takes over, our arithmetic
Full-service restaurants in Cobb County paid $412.9 million to 15,606 employees in 2023, about $26,455 per employee; limited-service restaurants paid $271.8 million to 13,716, about $19,815 (County Business Patterns, NAICS 722511 and 722513; the per-employee figures are our arithmetic). Part-time servers and line cooks count as employees in these tables, which pulls both averages down.
Illustration only, invented figures: a buyer keeping 22 staff at a full-service room paying near the county average would carry about $582,010 a year in payroll, roughly $48,501 a month (our arithmetic on the invented headcount). Ask the seller for twelve months of payroll registers and test them against a rough figure like that before you size any working capital beside the purchase.
Restaurants in ZIP 30060 and Cobb County, GA
ZIP 30060 had 44 full-service and 56 limited-service restaurants with payroll in 2023 (ZIP Code Business Patterns). Across the county, accommodation and food services had 1,773 employers with 35,795 employees, and only 24.9% of them had fewer than five employees.
By Shorerock Loans · Updated
