The first step is a call to Halehaven Loans; a funding partner reviews the rest.
A coffee shop or bakery cafe in Ames, IA can fund espresso machines, roasters, ovens, menu boards and POS stations, buy a running cafe or a coffee cart, or cover payroll. Cafes with no sales yet and work on the building are outside this site.
At a glance
- Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with paid staff, Story County, IA
29 (CBP 2023, NAICS 722515)
- Of those, with fewer than five employees
7 (24.1%)
- Same code, ZIP 50010 addresses
16 establishments (ZBP 2023)
- Same code, businesses with no paid employees, county
4 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024)
Coffee shop equipment financing for Story County, IA: espresso machines, grinders and brewers
The bar is where a coffee shop’s money sits. A two- or three-group espresso machine, one grinder per bean, a batch brewer and hot water tower, a water filtration cartridge system, milk refrigerators under the counter and a blender for frozen drinks: each one arrives with a dealer quote and a model number.
That paperwork is what equipment financing needs. The machine can secure its own agreement, so the cafe keeps cash for rent, milk and payroll. Used machines from a refurbisher can be part of the request as well; the partner reviewing it may ask for the refurbisher’s invoice and the machine’s serial number.
County Business Patterns places coffee shops under snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (NAICS 722515), and 7 of that code’s 29 Story County, Iowa establishments with paid staff had fewer than five employees in 2023.
Bakery equipment loan in Ames, IA: roasters, bean stock and second cafes
A bakery cafe adds a second kitchen to the coffee bar: a convection oven, a spiral mixer, a proofing cabinet, sheet pan racks and a reach-in refrigerator. A cafe that roasts its own beans adds a drum roaster, a cooling tray and a scale. All of these are equipment. Ductwork that a roaster or an oven may need belongs to the building, so it stays outside this site.
Bean stock is a different kind of cost. Roasted beans for the bar, bagged retail coffee and the cups and lids that go with them are goods the cafe sells, which makes them an inventory financing question rather than equipment.
Second cafes come up here too. A cafe that is already running and adds a second location, or a kiosk cart for a market or an office lobby, is buying another set of machines: a second espresso machine, grinders, a cart with its own water tank. Those machines fit equipment financing. Signing the new lease, and changing the room itself, are matters this site leaves out.
Loan to buy a cafe for Story County, IA: roasters, bag sealers and green coffee buys
A loan to buy a cafe pays for the business: its espresso machines and roaster, its bags of green coffee, the name and the recipes, the staff who know the regulars, and the supplier accounts. A term loan suits that one-time price on the business side only. A building or lot bundled into the deal is real estate, and this site leaves it out.
Illustration only, invented figures. The agreed price for a running cafe is $126,000, and the buyer brings $21,000. Spreading $105,000 across 84 months at 10.25% a year sets each payment at $1,756.72. Seven years of payments total $147,564.48; the interest inside that total is $42,564.48.
Green coffee is the other line item on a roaster’s list. A bag sealer and a scale are equipment; the bags, valves and labels are stock. With invented prices: 10 bags of green coffee at 152 pounds each, bought at $4.10 a pound, cost $6,232.00 before a single bag is roasted.
A partner reviewing a cafe purchase may ask for the seller’s card-sales statements, tax returns, the equipment list and the lease.
Coffee shop financing in Ames, IA: digital menu boards, POS stations and payroll
Digital menu boards, a pair of POS stations with card readers, a kitchen display and a label printer for to-go orders are front-of-house equipment, and they fit equipment financing on their own or as part of a bar package.
Payroll is the cost a coffee shop cannot schedule around. Baristas are paid every week or two, and a stretch of slower weeks still carries the same shifts. Working capital can cover a gap of that kind.
Card-heavy cafes can look at a third route. A merchant cash advance is not a loan: a funding company pays the cafe a lump sum now in exchange for a slice of its future card receipts, and it collects that slice a little at a time from each day’s card sales. A slow day sends less; the full amount owed is fixed when the advance is signed.
The 2024 Nonemployer Statistics file counts 4 snack and nonalcoholic beverage bar businesses in Story County, Iowa that have no paid employees.
What an Ames, IA cafe can finance first: bakery ovens and display cases
Two purchases come up early for a cafe that sells food: the oven that bakes it and the case that shows it. A refrigerated display case, a dry pastry case and a countertop merchandiser for grab-and-go items are freestanding equipment. A case built into the counter is part of the space; the movable case standing on it is not.
| Item | Funding type to compare first | What a partner may ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso machine and grinders | Equipment financing | Dealer quote with model numbers |
| Convection oven and proofing cabinet | Equipment financing | Vendor quote and delivery date |
| Refrigerated display case | Equipment financing | Quote showing a freestanding unit |
| Bulk beans, cups and lids | Inventory financing | Supplier invoice and order size |
| A running cafe from its owner | Term loan (business side only) | Seller’s statements and equipment list |
| Barista payroll in slower weeks | Working capital | Recent bank statements |
ZIP Code Business Patterns gives ZIP 50010 a count of 16 snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with paid staff for 2023.
How a bank, a credit union and an online lender differ near Ames is laid out on the Ames, IA page. Restaurant and hotel pages sit next to this one under food and lodging on the industries page.
By Halehaven Loans · Updated
