For a second cooking line, equipment financing usually fits the line itself, a term loan fits any build-out around it, and a credit line fits the extra food and payroll while sales grow into the added capacity.
An article from Eaglerun Business Loans in Elizabethtown, Kentucky comparing restaurant funding for a second cooking line: what each product fits, Hardin County, KY Census counts, an invented example and the records partners ask for.
Three Costs in One Expansion
A second line is rarely just the range and the fryers. It usually brings three costs: the equipment, which has a quote and a resale value; the work around it, such as hood extension, gas and electrical lines and fire suppression; and the running costs of using it, which means more food, more prep hours and more staff before the extra covers pay for themselves. Each cost fits a different product.
Restaurant Equipment Financing: How Hardin County, KY Restaurant Owners Use It for Food Costs
Equipment financing pays for the line and secures the deal with it. It does not pay for food, but it frees cash that would otherwise go into the equipment, and that cash can carry food costs. For food itself, a line of credit is the closer fit: draw for the larger orders the second line requires, pay down as the week's sales arrive.
Restaurants and other eating places numbered 186 in Hardin County, KY in 2023, with 4,318 paid employees and $90.5 million in annual payroll (County Business Patterns). Full-service restaurants numbered 73 and limited-service restaurants 93.
Restaurant Equipment Loans for Hardin County, KY Restaurant Owners Covering Patio Build-Outs
Some kitchens add a line to serve a new patio or dining room rather than to speed up the existing one. The patio is a build-out, with concrete, railings, lighting and heaters, and fits a term loan; its furniture and heaters can sit on equipment financing. Ask the city's planning department about permits for outdoor seating before the bid is final.
Restaurant Business Loans for Elizabethtown, KY Restaurant Owners Buying Fryers
Illustration only, invented figures: a second line with a four-burner range, a griddle, two fryers, a refrigerated prep table and a hood extension costs $64,000 installed. Financed at an invented annual rate of 10.5% over 60 months, that comes to about $1,376 a month, with payments totaling about $82,537 (our arithmetic).
If the line adds an invented 60 covers a week at $9 of contribution each after food and labor, it brings in about $540 a week, or about $2,338 a month using 4.33 weeks per month (our arithmetic). That covers the invented payment of $1,376 with about $962 to spare, before any rise in rent or utilities. The exercise is worth doing with your own numbers before asking anyone for money.
| Cost | Usual fit | Paid back from |
|---|---|---|
| Range, fryers, prep table | Equipment financing | Monthly payments over the equipment's life |
| Hood extension, gas, electrical | Term loan | Fixed payments over a set term |
| Extra food and prep hours | Line of credit | Weekly sales |
| A slow stretch while sales build | Working capital loan | Short schedule |
Documents Restaurateurs in Hardin County, KY Usually Gather First
- Point-of-sale sales by week for the last year.
- Food cost and labor cost, each shown as a percentage of sales.
- Itemized quotes for the line and the installation.
- The lease and its remaining term.
- Business tax returns, bank statements and a debt schedule.
Restaurants in Elizabethtown, KY also file the city's restaurant tax on prepared food, so have those filings current. Restaurant loans cover walk-ins, hoods and buying an existing restaurant.
When a Second Line Is the Wrong Answer for a Hardin County, KY Kitchen
A second line solves one problem: tickets backing up at the pass during busy periods because the cooking equipment cannot keep up. If the bottleneck is elsewhere, such as too few servers, a small dining room, slow dish return or a prep kitchen that falls behind, a new line adds a payment without adding covers. Before pricing equipment, time a few busy services and note where the wait actually forms.
Sometimes the cheaper fix is a single piece of equipment, such as a combi oven or a second fryer, rather than a full line. That smaller purchase can still go on equipment financing, and it leaves room on the credit line for food and staff.
Questions an Elizabethtown, KY Kitchen Asks Before Signing
- Does the equipment payment start at delivery or at installation?
- Is the hood work financed with the equipment or separately?
- Does the line of credit have an annual fee or a clean-up period?
- What happens if the line is not used for months?
ZIP 42701 held 48 full-service and 56 limited-service restaurants in 2023 (ZIP Code Business Patterns). See the Elizabethtown, KY page for the tables.
By Eaglerun Business Loans · Updated
