With dreams of opening his own restaurant, Nathan and his wife, Michaela had a few challenges to overcome. Through their partnership with Mulligan Funding, they have been able to achieve their goals.
2016
Food and beverage
Restaurant
Canton, NC
20-25 employees
2019
Remodel and cash flow
Nathan, who studied entrepreneurship in college, always had a dream of owning his own restaurant, in spite of his and his wife’s relatively limited experience in the restaurant industry. When the opportunity arose for them to take over a struggling restaurant in the area, Nathan dreamed of turning their little town around 30 minutes outside Ashville, North Carolina into a trendy downtown area. Their parents, who had substantially more restaurant experience, joined in on the effort and together they opened Southern Porch in Canton, North Carolina.
With business going reasonably well, Nathan and his family faced a few challenges. A few years after opening their restaurant, their parents wanted to retire, which meant having to buy them out which was challenging with ongoing debts to their vendors. They also wanted to keep their restaurant fresh with newer equipment and some dining area remodeling, and, although business was good, it would have been a strain on their cash flow to do so just from their earnings. They would have had to close their doors and lose business, which wouldn’t have been ideal. Luckily, they have been able to build a long-standing relationship with Mulligan Funding that has supported their business being able to thrive.
In need of additional capital, Nathan and his wife, Michaela, first tried their local bank but, unfortunately, they didn’t have the right numbers for the bank to give them a line of credit or a loan. They looked at a few other resources and eventually came across a partner of ours who enabled a relationship with Mulligan Funding. From the working capital loan they got through Mulligan Funding, not only were their parents able to retire, but Nathan and his wife, Michaela were able to pay off debts to many of their vendors and get ahead of the game.
Since then, they have come back to Mulligan Funding for access to additional funding that allowed them to buy new equipment from a restaurant that closed nearby, and implement a remodel on their bar and dining room. They have also noticed that since they opened Southern Porch, there have been around 15-20 new businesses that either opened or relocated to within 2 miles of their restaurant. They take great pride in that and, although they haven’t reached where they want to be just yet, they plan to continue to grow their business and the town around them.
If you happen to be in Canton, North Carolina, stop by for some tasty southern bites!
If you're in a similar position as Nathan and could use additional capital to help with a remodel or general cash flow, talk with our loan advisors today.
