Lesson 1: Debt as a Strategic Tool

Lesson 2: Key Risk Factors for Restaurant Lending

Lesson 3: Cash Flow, COGS, and Repayment Capacity

Lesson 4: Reading Guarantees, Fees, and Covenants

Foundations of Restaurant Debt

The Deep Dive

Bonus

Borrowing is a common path to grow or stabilize a restaurant, but the difference between a workable loan and a bad fit is often in the details. This course gives independent operators a clear, example-driven tour of how lenders view restaurants.

Borrowing is a common path to grow or stabilize a restaurant, but the difference between a workable loan and a bad fit is often in the details. This course gives independent operators a clear, example-driven tour of how lenders view restaurants, what drives repayment risk, and which contract terms to watch for.

You'll get plain-language definitions, decision rules lenders use, and concrete financial connections — especially how cost of goods, labor, and seasonality affect the ability to service debt. Each lesson builds on the prior one so you leave with a cohesive set of checks you can use when comparing offers.

Practical operator notes and neutral tool references point to how back-office reports and recipe/COGS tools can support the work of evaluating offers — described the way an operator would refer to a spreadsheet or a reporting screen, not as a product pitch.

Loans Done Right: Risk Factors and Deal Breakers

5 lessons

Foundations of Restaurant Debt

Bonus