Laurelwick Lenders passes coffee shop and cafe funding requests from Lake Havasu City, Arizona to funding partners. Mohave County, AZ counted 42 snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, the Census group for coffee shops, in 2023. This page covers cafe business loans, funding sources, loan documents, bakery equipment, buying a coffee shop or bakery, and local counts.
At a glance
- Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bar employers, Mohave County, AZ
42, with 466 employees (County Business Patterns 2023)
- Coffee and snack bars with fewer than five employees
15, or 35.7% (County Business Patterns 2023)
- Accommodation and food services employers
455 (County Business Patterns 2023)
Cafe Business Loan: What Cafe Owners Compare
Coffee shops sit in the Census group for snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (NAICS 722515). Mohave County, AZ counted 42 of them with paid employees in 2023, with 466 employees and $10 million in annual payroll, about $21,552 per employee (our arithmetic, County Business Patterns 2023); 13 had a ZIP 86403 address (ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023). Cafe owners compare a cafe business loan on whether the espresso machine secures it, how the payment sits against the weakest week of card sales, and how long the term runs against the equipment's life.
| What the cafe needs | Funding type | Records a partner reads |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso machine, grinders, brewers | Equipment financing or lease | Vendor quote, card statements |
| Ovens and pastry cases for a bakery side | Equipment financing | Quote, sales by category |
| Payroll and milk and bean orders | Working capital | Card and bank deposits |
| A second location or a purchase | Term loan | Returns, the lease, bids |
How to Get Funding for a Coffee Shop: What Cafe Owners Gather First
Funding for a coffee shop comes from four places: equipment lenders and the espresso machine makers' own programs for the bar, banks and credit unions for a build-out or second location, working capital lenders that read card deposits, and card-sales providers offering advances, which are not loans. Cafe owners gather the same core records for each: card and bank statements, the latest return, the lease and the quote for what is being bought.
A merchant cash advance collects from each day's card batch, which can bite in a cafe with small tickets and thin weeks; price it beside a loan first.
How to Get a Loan for a Coffee Shop: What Lake Havasu City, AZ Owners Gather First
- Get the vendor quote for the espresso machine, grinders and any refrigeration.
- Pull recent card processing statements and the matching bank statements.
- Have the latest business return and a current profit and loss statement.
- Have the lease, with its remaining term and any renewal option.
- Work out the payment against the weakest week of card sales.
Illustration only, invented figures: a Lake Havasu City, AZ cafe averaging 260 tickets a day at $7.40 each takes in about $1,924 a day (our arithmetic). A partner sets any new payment against days like that, and against the slower ones, from the card statements.
What Is Bakery Equipment? Answers for Cafe Owners
Bakery equipment is what a cafe needs to bake on site rather than buy pastries in: deck or convection ovens, proofers, mixers, sheeters, refrigerated prep tables and display cases. Cafe owners adding a bakery side finance it as equipment, often with a build-out for ventilation and electrical work that a lender may treat separately.
Illustration only, invented figures: an $18,500 espresso machine, $4,200 of grinders, a $9,800 convection oven and a $6,400 pastry case total $38,900. Over 48 months at an invented annual rate of 10.5%, the invented payment is about $996 a month (our arithmetic). Equipment financing sets a cafe's loan beside a lease for the same bar.
How to Buy a Coffee Shop That Already Operates: Steps for Espresso Bars and Bakeries
- Get card processing statements for at least a year, by month.
- Read three years of the cafe's returns and compare them with the card totals.
- List the equipment in the sale with ages and service records.
- Read the lease: remaining term, rent increases and whether it can be assigned.
- Ask which staff and which wholesale accounts stay after the sale.
- Size the price to what the books show, then add working capital for the changeover.
Espresso bars and bakeries bought this way are financed with a term loan. Illustration only, invented figures: a $145,000 cafe purchase with $36,250 down, financed over 60 months at an invented annual rate of 11%, comes to an invented payment near $2,364 a month (our arithmetic).
How to Buy a Bakery: A Guide for Cafe Owners
Buying a bakery follows the same steps, with more weight on the ovens and on any wholesale accounts. A bakery that sells to cafes and restaurants has receivables a buyer should read, and its ovens and mixers may be worth more than a coffee shop's bar. Food manufacturing, the Census group that holds wholesale bakeries, is a tiny count in Mohave County, AZ: 3 employers in 2023 (County Business Patterns 2023), so a retail bakery-cafe is the more likely purchase.
Cafe Business Loans for Lake Havasu City, AZ Coffee Shops and Bakeries
Cafe business loans for Lake Havasu City, AZ coffee shops and bakeries are read against small establishments: 15 of the county's 42 snack and coffee bars, 35.7%, had fewer than five employees in 2023 (County Business Patterns 2023). Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program, counted 12 without paid employees for 2024. The county's wider restaurant base, 155 full-service and 147 limited-service employers, is covered on the restaurant page.
Working capital covers the weeks between bean orders and sales, and the Lake Havasu City, AZ page has the county counts.
By Laurelwick Lenders · Updated