Memphis restaurant and bar owners looking for business loans operate in a Shelby County economy shaped by barbecue, blues and freight. Whether you are adding a second smoker on South Main or scouting a new room in Midtown, Restaurant Finance Network takes one application to banks, credit unions and private lenders so you can compare real offers side by side.
Memphis at a glance
- Population: 609,647 (U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimate for July 1, 2025; the 2020 Census counted 633,104).
- County: Shelby.
- Where people eat and drink: Beale Street, Downtown and the riverfront, the South Main Arts District, Overton Square, Cooper-Young and the Broad Avenue Arts District.
- SBA coverage: the Tennessee District Office in Nashville, plus a Memphis virtual office that serves Shelby and nine neighboring West Tennessee counties.
What drives the Memphis restaurant and bar trade
Beale Street is the city’s front porch for visitors, with live blues, neon and late closing times, and the blocks around it fill again when the Grizzlies play at FedExForum. A short drive east, Overton Square was rebuilt after a near-demolition in 2012 and now packs live theaters, patios and restaurants into a few walkable Midtown blocks. Cooper-Young is the neighborhood of independent kitchens and vintage shops, and its annual festival each September brings some of the biggest crowds of the year. South Main pairs galleries and small dining rooms with traffic from the National Civil Rights Museum, while Broad Avenue leans toward murals, makers and taprooms.
Behind the tourist trade sits a working city. The FedEx World Hub at Memphis International Airport keeps a logistics workforce on the clock through the night, which supports early breakfast counters, late kitchens and catering. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the University of Memphis and Graceland in Whitehaven add steady visitor and family traffic. The calendar peaks with the Memphis in May festival and its barbecue contest, then softens in the hottest summer weeks before Tigers football and the fall festival season return. Spirits tourism is growing too: Old Dominick Distillery operates on Front Street downtown, and Blue Note Bourbon runs its distillery on Royal Avenue.
Financing that fits Memphis operators
- Equipment financing covers smokers, pits, hood systems and walk-in coolers, which are the big-ticket items in a barbecue-heavy market. See also restaurant equipment financing.
- SBA loans suit owners buying an established restaurant or the building it sits in, where a longer repayment schedule matters.
- Commercial real estate loans help operators who would rather own an older downtown or Midtown building than keep renewing a lease.
- Construction and renovation loans fund code upgrades, grease traps and ventilation in historic storefronts.
- Working capital loans and a business line of credit smooth the gap between the spring festival rush and slower summer weeks.
- Bar and club owners can start with bar financing or the Memphis-specific pages for restaurant loans in Memphis and bar financing in Memphis.
Opening a second Memphis location
Plenty of Memphis concepts prove themselves in Midtown or downtown and then follow their regulars east into the suburbs. Lenders reviewing an expansion loan will look hard at the first location’s bank deposits, how long it has been open and whether the owner can carry two rents during the ramp-up. If you are planning a third or fourth unit, our multi-location restaurant financing page explains how lenders view a group rather than a single store.
Permits, licensing and local help
Liquor, wine and high-gravity beer served by the drink fall under the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, while ordinary beer permits inside city limits go through the Memphis Alcohol Commission and the City of Memphis permits office. For free counseling, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center keeps a Memphis office at Southwest Tennessee Community College’s Maxine A. Smith Center on East Shelby Drive. The SBA’s Tennessee District Office works by appointment in Nashville, and its Memphis virtual office takes calls for Shelby County businesses. Budget time for both approvals before you sign a lease.
Questions owners ask
Can I finance a barbecue smoker or pit for a Memphis restaurant?
Yes, in most cases. Commercial smokers, pits and the hood and fire-suppression work around them are tangible equipment, so many lenders will finance them with the equipment itself as collateral. Lenders will want a vendor quote and recent bank statements. Installed pits built into a building can be treated more like renovation work, which can change the loan type that fits.
Does the SBA have an office in Memphis?
The SBA lists a Memphis virtual office that handles calls for Shelby, Fayette, Tipton and seven other West Tennessee counties, while the Tennessee District Office itself sits in Nashville and meets by appointment. SBA loans are actually made by approved banks and lenders, so a broker can help you find which lenders are actively writing restaurant deals in Shelby County.
Who issues beer and liquor permits for a Memphis bar?
Memphis bars usually need two approvals. Beer permits inside city limits run through the Memphis Alcohol Commission and the city permits office, and the commission meets twice a month. Liquor-by-the-drink licenses for spirits, wine and high-gravity beer come from the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Lenders often want to see that both are in progress before funding.
Nearby cities
Return to the Tennessee hub or see financing notes for Germantown, Bartlett and Collierville. Ready to see options? Check what you qualify for.