Lindenfield Business Funding helps bars and taverns in La Crosse, WI request inventory financing for liquor and beer stock, equipment financing for coolers and draft systems, and term loans for remodels or buying a pub. La Crosse County, WI had 79 bar employers in 2023. Funding partners make every decision; you choose whether to accept.
| Bar employers in La Crosse County, WI | 79 (CBP 2023) |
|---|---|
| Bars in ZIP 54601 | 34 (ZBP 2023) |
| Employees and payroll | 686; $9.9 million (CBP 2023) |
| Bars without payroll | 8 (NES 2024) |
The Tavern Cash Cycle
Bars collect cash and card payments every night, so revenue arrives daily. Costs are concentrated in stock, which may have to be paid for on delivery or within a short window, and in equipment: walk-in and back-bar coolers, draft systems, ice machines, and the point-of-sale system. A remodel or an expanded kitchen adds a lump on top.
Small business loans for bars can fall into three groups: stock, equipment and buying the business itself.
Bar Business Financing Options
| The spending in question | Option to look at first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Liquor, beer and wine stock | A line of credit, or inventory financing | Pays suppliers before the stock is poured |
| Coolers, draft system, ice machine | Equipment financing | The equipment secures it |
| Remodel or adding a kitchen | Term loan | Fixed payments for a one-off project |
| Buying an existing bar | Term loan | Covers the purchase, with the seller's records reviewed |
Bar equipment financing works like any equipment loan or lease. Stock purchases fit inventory financing, and purchases and remodels fit term loans.
How to Finance Buying a Pub in La Crosse County, WI
Pub business loans for a purchase are reviewed on two businesses: yours and the one you are buying. Expect a partner to ask for the seller's tax returns and sales records, the purchase agreement, a list of what is included (equipment, stock, the building or just the lease), and your plan for running it.
Ask early how the alcohol license will be handled in the sale. The license timeline can set the closing date as much as the funding does, so plan the purchase, the funding and the license steps together.
The Wisconsin Class B license guide for bar buyers sets out the funding-side timeline, and the post on buying a tavern in La Crosse County walks through a purchase.
Can You Finance a Liquor License in Wisconsin?
The cost of obtaining a license can be part of the overall budget for opening or buying a bar, and some partners include it in an acquisition or remodel request while others will not finance it on its own. Whether a license can serve as collateral is a legal question that depends on state and local rules.
Census Counts for Bars in La Crosse County, WI
County Business Patterns counted 79 drinking places (NAICS 7224) with payroll in La Crosse County, WI in 2023. They employed 686 people with $9.9 million in annual payroll, roughly nine employees per bar and about $14,500 in payroll per employee (our arithmetic from CBP 2023). Twenty-seven of the 79, or 34.2%, had fewer than five employees.
Thirty-four of those bars had a ZIP 54601 address, 43% of the county total (ZBP 2023). Nonemployer Statistics counted eight bars with no paid employees in 2024 (a separate program and year).
Bars sit within accommodation and food services, which had 364 employer establishments in the county in 2023. More on the La Crosse, WI data page.
What Partners Review for a Small Business Loan for a Bar
- Bank and card processing statements, read for steady nightly receipts
- Supplier invoices for stock purchases
- The current license and lease
- For equipment, the quote; for a purchase, the seller's records
Partners vary in their appetite for alcohol-related businesses; tell us what the business is at the start so the request goes to the right ones.
An Illustrative Draft System Upgrade
Hypothetical figures, for arithmetic only. A tavern replaces a ten-line draft system and a back-bar cooler for $16,000. Financed over 36 months, the payment becomes a fixed monthly cost. If better-kept beer and a wider tap list lift sales modestly, the payment is covered; if not, the bar has added a cost without new revenue. Ask the installer for a realistic estimate of savings on waste, too.
Questions Before Buying or Upgrading a Tavern
- Does the sale include the building, or only the business and the lease?
- How much stock is on hand at closing, and is it in the price?
- Which equipment is owned and which is leased from a distributor?
- How will the license be handled, and by when?
Draft systems and coolers are sometimes supplied by distributors rather than owned, so check the equipment list before assuming it secures anything.
By Lindenfield Business Funding · Updated
