Opening a second restaurant location on schedule.

Greer's Kitchen had a line out the door most weekends, and Marcus had signed a lease on a second space across town. But a build-out always costs more than the quote — permits, a hood system, an extra walk-in — and the cash that was supposed to cover opening week kept getting eaten by the punch list.

States Funding provided $90,000 in working capital in two business days, so Marcus could finish the build-out, stock the new kitchen and make payroll for a second crew without raiding the original location’s register.

“I’d been to my bank first. They wanted two more weeks just to look at it,” Marcus says. “States Funding actually understood restaurant timing — you open when the space is ready, not when a committee meets.”

The second Greer’s Kitchen opened on its target date, and the two locations now share a prep kitchen and a catering line Marcus added the following year.