Industries
SBA 504 Financing for Restaurants, Cafes and Food Processing
A restaurant that owns its building can't be priced off its own street. Restaurants, cafes, bakeries and food processors use SBA 504 loans to buy or build their premises and to finance long-life kitchen and processing equipment, with 10% down and the SBA portion fixed for up to 25 years.
The 504 for Nevada restaurants
Kitchens, build-out and the building they sit in, and why a lease renewal is what usually starts the conversation.
Why food businesses choose a 504
Margins are thin and rent is the line that moves. Owning converts the largest fixed cost into a payment that doesn't change, and the working capital a conventional down payment would have consumed stays in the business for the slow season.
What the money can buy
- The restaurant's building, freestanding or a majority of a mixed-use property
- Ground-up construction of a restaurant, commissary or processing plant
- Kitchen build-out, hoods, walk-ins, grease and fire systems with a long useful life
- Food-processing equipment: lines, ovens, packaging, cold storage, with a useful life of ten years or more; food processing is manufacturing, so the $5.5 million cap can apply
- Eligible refinancing of existing premises debt
Special-purpose?
Most restaurants are not on the SBA's special-purpose list and qualify at 10%. A start-up restaurant (operating two years or less) puts in 15%. We'll confirm your tier on the first call.
Nevada examples
Nevada restaurants, bakeries and breweries that own their address.
The structure, whatever the industry
A bank first mortgage, NSDC's fixed-rate SBA portion, and your equity. Start-ups and special-purpose properties put in more.
- 50% Bank or credit union First lien. Its own rate and term.
- 40% SBA 504 through NSDC Second lien. Fixed for 10, 20 or 25 years.
- 10% You Cash or equity you already hold.
Eligibility, in brief
Your business operates for profit; tangible net worth is under $20 million and average net income under $6.5 million; you'll occupy at least 51% of an existing building or 60% of new construction; and the money buys real estate, long-life equipment, or eligible refinancing. The full requirements, with sources.
The timeline
Prequalification is free, with an answer within three business days. Full SBA approval typically takes two to three weeks, and most NSDC loans close within 45 days, because as a Premier Certified Lender NSDC approves in-house. The four phases.
Why NSDC
Nevada's oldest, largest and only statewide CDC, lending since 1981: 2,350+ loans, $1 billion+ in SBA financing, 23,914 jobs supported, from offices in Las Vegas and Reno, serving Nevada, Mojave County, Arizona, and eleven eastern California counties. About NSDC.
This page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Figures verified September 2026.
Tell us about the building. We'll tell you where you stand.
Four details, no credit pull. A loan officer in Reno or Las Vegas reads them and calls you. Pre-qualification within three business days.
- Free
- No credit pull
- No documents to start
- A named officer replies
We love owning this because we're in charge of our destiny.
Full Tilt Logistics, NSDC borrower · 2,350+ loans since 1981