Franchise funding
For franchisees running sports bars or GO units: what to fund and how a game-day deposit pattern is read.
✓ Merchant Fund Express starts with a soft credit pull. Terms depend on your location's revenue and history.
Updated October 21, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
Merchant Fund Express funds existing Buffalo Wild Wings franchisees with business loans, merchant cash advances, revenue-based financing, lines of credit, equipment financing and working capital, from $25,000 to $5,000,000. A sports bar earns in game-night surges, so we read a full season of deposits after royalty, advertising, food and bar drafts. Complete files are decided the same day, and funding often lands the next business day.
Franchisees with open Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants: the full sports bar with full bar and patio, or the smaller GO unit built for takeout and delivery. Inspire Brands calls it the largest sports bar chain in the United States, and the format carries costs a quick-service unit does not: a bar program, a large floor staff and screens that must work every game day.
See the chicken and wings franchise funding guide and the bar and nightclub industry page.
Checked Oct 2026 against official sources: the franchisor's own franchising site, its FDD or SEC filings, or the SBA Franchise Directory. Figures change; confirm current numbers in the latest Franchise Disclosure Document. Figures we could not confirm from an official source are left out.
Already running a Buffalo Wild Wings location and need capital? Merchant Fund Express funds existing franchise owners with every product below. Terms depend on the business's revenue and history.
In a sports bar the screens are the product. Displays and audio are an equipment purchase with a quote; financing them keeps cash for food and payroll.
Football means bigger food and bar orders before sales arrive. A line of credit fits; see bar inventory funding.
A 150 to 200 seat room needs a big crew, and remodels arrive on schedule. Working capital covers payroll; a term loan carries the remodel.
| Need | Product | Published requirement it leans on | What to send |
|---|---|---|---|
| Displays, AV and audio replacement | Equipment financing | Vendor quote and useful life | Quote, 3 months of statements |
| Pre-season food, beer and liquor stock | Line of credit | Tier 1: 3+ years, FICO 650+, 8+ deposits a month | Statements, invoices |
| Game-weekend staffing gap | Working capital | Tier 2: 6+ months, FICO 600+, $60K verifiable revenue | Statements, payroll register |
| Dining room, bar or patio remodel | Business loan | Tier 1, applicant owns at least 50% | Contractor bid, statements |
| Uneven deposits across a season | Revenue-based financing | Tier 2: minimum daily balance $800, up to 2 current advances | Statements per entity |
Merchant Fund Express offers Spanish-speaking support.
Take a sports bar depositing $260,000 in a football-season month: royalty and advertising $23,400, food and bar $78,000, payroll $82,000, rent $21,000, equipment payments $6,600. New screens and audio are quoted at $96,000.
Figures in this example are illustrations of the arithmetic, not an offer, quote or approval. Real terms depend on the file and the funder.
An unopened sports bar or GO unit needs an operating history before Merchant Fund Express can review it; see opening a restaurant franchise. If you already run Buffalo Wild Wings units and are adding one, the review reads your current units' deposits; see funding a second location. Buying an open restaurant from another franchisee follows franchise transfer financing.
Yes. Screens and sound systems are reviewed against a vendor quote and their useful life.
We read several months of deposits so peaks and quiet weeks are both in view. A line of credit or revenue-based financing usually fits best.
Yes. A GO unit is read on its own deposits, delivery payouts, franchisor drafts and existing payments.
Each entity is read on its own deposits; one request can cover several locations.
No. Merchant Fund Express is independent. We use the Buffalo Wild Wings name only to identify the owners this page is for; it does not mean the franchisor endorses or works with us.
Merchant Fund Express is independent. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Buffalo Wild Wings or its franchisor. Brand names identify the owner audience only.
Merchant Fund Express reviews your location's revenue, deposits and existing payments. Same-day decision on a complete file; funding often the next business day. About five minutes to apply.
