TD Bank announced that its U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Lending Group closed $4 million combined in 504 and 7(a) loans for Schwebke Group, Inc., which operates restaurant chain Culver’s locations in the greater Tampa region.
These funds were used to finance the ground-up construction of a new Culver’s location at 2103 N. Park Road in Plant City, Florida, as well as startup costs and restaurant equipment. TD previously provided $3.4 million in financing for the Schwebke Group’s first Culver’s location in Seminole.
Founded in 1984 in Wisconsin, Culver’s is known for its ButterBurgers and fresh frozen custard and its focus on family-oriented hospitality. Outside of these signature items, Culver’s menu has a breadth of other offerings including north Atlantic cod, Wisconsin cheese curds, beef pot roast and butterfly jumbo shrimp.
“We interviewed five lenders for our first project and selected TD Bank because of the combination of structure, rate, knowledge and people the bank was able to offer,” says Scott Schwebke, Managing Partner of Schwebke Group. “Over the past five years, our relationship with TD has expanded as our business has grown, and the bank is always quick to help with our needs. This past project had a few hurdles and again, TD Bank came through. Every lender I spoke with talks about relationships; however, they fell short in other aspects. In today’s environment, you need to pick a lender that delivers the best complete package and that is TD Bank.”
Philip Rhodes, SBA national franchise business development officer, and Christopher Papp, senior relationship manager, handled the deal for TD.
“We are pleased to have been selected as Schwebke Group’s bank of choice since the company’s inception and to see how their restaurants are positively impacting the surrounding community, with more than 200 people present for the most recent store’s grand opening and lines out the door,” Rhodes says. “TD Bank was able to use our strong knowledge of the restaurant franchise industry and SBA lending to provide the customer with comprehensive, tailored financing solutions as it continues to expand its franchising operations.”
TD Bank is the No. 1 SBA lender in units and 504 dollars in its Maine to Florida footprint. The bank also ranked first in SBA loan units in Florida during the SBA’s fiscal year, which ran from Oct. 1, 2018, to Sept. 30, 2019, approving 665 deals for a total of $81.8 million.
