Franchise funding
For operators running Louisiana-style chicken kitchens: fryers, breading, drive-thru volume and the drafts that come out every week.
✓ 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
Running a Popeyes and need capital for the kitchen, the lane or the crew? Merchant Fund Express funds existing Popeyes 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. We read bone-in chicken and tender volume through the deposits, then size payments after royalty, advertising fund and supplier drafts. With a complete file, expect a same-day decision and funding that often follows the next business day.
Franchisees with open Popeyes restaurants in the United States, from a single drive-thru to multi-unit groups. The 2026 FDD lists 3,229 US restaurants at the end of 2025, nearly all franchised, and Restaurant Brands International describes a Louisiana-style menu of fried bone-in chicken, tenders, chicken sandwiches, wings and regional items. Bone-in chicken and tenders keep breading stations, fryers and holding cabinets working at volume through every peak.
See the chicken and wings franchise funding guide for the sector and the restaurant industry page for the general cycle.
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 Popeyes location and need capital? Merchant Fund Express funds existing franchise owners with every product below. Terms depend on the business's revenue and history.
When a sandwich or limited-time offer launches, chicken orders and crew hours jump before the sales land. A line of credit sized to the cycle keeps the walk-in full; see franchise inventory funding.
Bone-in and tender volume runs fryers hard. Replacing a fryer bank with equipment financing on a quote spreads the cost over its useful life.
Double lanes, new menu boards and order-confirmation screens are planned projects with bids. A term loan or equipment financing covers them; see POS and drive-thru tech.
| Need | Product | Published requirement it leans on | What to send |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fryers, breading tables, holding cabinets | Equipment financing | Vendor quote and useful life | Quote, 3 months of statements |
| Promotion-driven chicken orders | Line of credit | Tier 1: 3+ years, FICO 650+, 8+ deposits a month | Statements, distributor invoices |
| Crew hours for a launch | Working capital | Tier 2: 6+ months, FICO 600+, $60K verifiable revenue | Statements, payroll register |
| Reimage or lane rebuild | Business loan | Tier 1, applicant owns at least 50% | Contractor bid, statements |
| Group with uneven stores | Revenue-based financing | Tier 2: minimum daily balance $800, up to 2 current advances | Statements per entity |
Merchant Fund Express accepts ITIN applicants and offers Spanish-speaking support.
Suppose a drive-thru restaurant deposits $125,000 a month. Royalty and advertising drafts total $11,250, chicken, oil and packaging $41,000, payroll $33,000, rent $10,000 and an existing advance $5,800. The owner wants a fryer bank, breading table and holding cabinet quoted at $66,000.
Figures in this example are illustrations of the arithmetic, not an offer, quote or approval. Real terms depend on the file and the funder.
A restaurant without its own deposit history needs to operate first before Merchant Fund Express can review it; opening a restaurant franchise explains why. Current Popeyes franchisees adding a restaurant are read on existing deposits; see second location funding. Buying a refranchised or existing restaurant from another operator follows franchise transfer financing once it has history.
Yes. Kitchen equipment is financed against a vendor quote and useful life, with the equipment as the stated purpose.
We read several months, so a launch week and the weeks after it are both visible.
Yes. Every restaurant entity gets its own read, and a single application can include several of them.
Not for a typical first review. Bank statements and the short application come first.
No. Merchant Fund Express is independent. We use the Popeyes 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 Popeyes 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.
