Supra
Capital kept expansion delay from derailing
A harsh winter delayed the opening of two new restaurant locations, creating a $2M revenue gap before the doors could open. Learn how $900K in Cash Flow Financing helped Supra maintain operations, cover fixed costs, and keep its expansion on track.
Supra, a Georgian restaurant group with three New York City locations, was preparing to open two more in the city. A brutal winter delayed the outdoor construction both new spots depended on, pushing the openings back two months and creating $2 million in unplanned revenue loss. A $900k Cash Flow Financing facility from National kept the group stable through the delay and able to open both locations and start generating revenue.
The Situation
Supra had spent years building a name for itself in one of the toughest restaurant markets in the country. Across the city, the brand became known for its Georgian menu and for outdoor spaces that turned each restaurant into a destination in its own right.
When they decided to open two new locations, Supra’s leadership studied the capital landscape, ran the numbers, and ultimately chose to self-fund the expansion. Even so, they moved with the foresight to establish a relationship they could lean on if circumstances changed. Through their senior lender, they were referred to John S., a dedicated Finance Business Advisor (FBA) at National, kept as a trusted touchpoint should anything arise. It’s the kind of preparation that pays off for any founder betting on their own capital. Construction began soon after.
Each Supra location is defined by lush, immersive patio sections that pull guests out of the urban landscape, and the two new sites were no exception. The patios were central to the remodel of the properties Supra had purchased, not an afterthought bolted onto the plans.
Well into construction and renovations, New York was hit by one of the most severe winter seasons in recent memory. Progress on both sites stalled. Neither restaurant could open, and the delay stretched to two months.
The Challenge
Two months of delay meant close to $2 million in revenue lost, an absence of cash flow the original projections never accounted for. Both new locations sat closed, but the costs kept running. Rent, water, and electric bills arrived regardless of whether either restaurant served a single table.
What should have been two new revenue engines for the group became two liquidity drains instead, burning cash the existing locations needed to keep running smoothly. Supra had made a choice to self-fund the buildout, confident in their timeline and their ability to manage it. Winter had other plans, and what had felt like a bold, well-calculated bet started to feel like a costly one.
The choice to self-fund the expansion had felt like a statement of confidence in their own business. Now, watching two locations bleed cash with no open date in sight, that confidence was giving way to anxiety. A particular kind of anxiety that comes from watching a plan you believed in start to unravel in real time, wondering if the self-assurance that led you to it was warranted after all.
But that’s exactly why the conversation with National, started months earlier, was about to prove its worth.
The owners at Supra reconnected with a capital provider who already understood their business.
The referral had come 18 months earlier through their senior lender, and their dedicated FBA, John, had kept the relationship active ever since, checking in periodically to see where Supra stood and what they might need down the line.
That groundwork paid off. National didn’t need weeks to get up to speed on Supra’s operations, their locations, or their growth plans. Within days, John and the team structured a $900,000 Cash Flow Financing facility designed specifically to cover working capital needs plus the rent and utilities at both closed locations until construction wrapped and the doors could finally open.
National didn't need weeks to get up to speed on Supra's operations, their locations, or their growth plans.
Why This Works
Aliquidity freeze rarely comes from one traceable source. It builds when several pressures converge at once: a construction delay, months of fixed costs, and a revenue stream still waiting to switch on. Supra’s position held because the flexibility was primed before any of that pressure arrived.
It’s worth repeating here a common refrain from Josh Gold, EVP of Business Finance at National: “The most financially disciplined companies explore junior options 6 to 12 months before they actually need to draw.” Supra’s successful expansion is a clear example of that principle in practice.
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Why National Business Capital
When traditional capital frameworks fall out of step with how a business actually runs, we bridge the gap.
If you’re planning the next growth phase of your business, we’re here to make sure you can get the funds to get it done.
*Client name changed to protect confidentiality
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