Canyonhill Advances, a small-business funding service in Mankato, Minnesota, covers convenience store and gas station loans: buying a store or station, inventory for fuel and store shelves, coolers and pump equipment, liquor store requests and what partners review. Blue Earth County, MN had 31 gasoline station employer establishments in 2023 (CBP).
At a glance
- Gasoline station employer establishments, Blue Earth County, MN
31 (CBP 2023)
- Gasoline station employees, March 2023
508 (CBP 2023)
- Stations in ZIP 56001
18 (ZBP 2023)
Two cash cycles in one building
Fuel is bought by the truckload, often paid within days of delivery, and sold over the following days. Store merchandise such as drinks, snacks and tobacco is bought weekly and carries a higher margin. Card fees take a share of both. A funding request reads more clearly when it separates the fuel side from the store side.
How to buy a convenience store business in Mankato, MN
Buying a store means paying for its equipment, stock, lease or property, and its customers. Partners read the seller's sales split by fuel and store, the fuel supply agreement, the lease or property terms and the equipment's condition. Stock on hand at closing is usually counted and paid for separately from the business price.
- Get two to three years of sales by category.
- Read the fuel supply agreement and its remaining term.
- Check the tanks' age and inspection records.
- Count the opening stock with the seller at closing.
Business loan to buy a gas station around Mankato, MN
A gas station purchase that includes the land and building is usually a commercial real estate transaction, funded by a bank or commercial mortgage lender, which Canyonhill does not arrange. Buying the business on a leased site is different: a term loan can fund the business and equipment, with stock financed separately.
Commercial loan for gas station: what Mankato, MN owners should know
Fuel stations raise questions other businesses do not: underground storage tanks, environmental history, and fuel brand agreements. Partners may ask for tank inspection records and any environmental reports. These questions affect any funder's review, so have the records ready.
How to get a business loan for a gas station
- Separate fuel and store sales in your figures.
- Gather bank statements, tax returns and card processing statements.
- Collect the fuel supply agreement and tank records.
- Get quotes for any equipment or remodel.
- For a pump, cooler or fuel-load question, call (507) 361-5031 or send the request form.
How to get funding for a gas station for a Blue Earth County, MN business
Funding for an operating station usually falls into four groups: inventory for fuel and store stock, equipment such as coolers, pumps and point-of-sale systems, a remodel of the store, and buying a station. Inventory financing or a line of credit carries stock; equipment financing covers coolers and pumps; a term loan covers remodels and purchases.
Liquor store business loan for Blue Earth County, MN businesses
Liquor stores carry costly stock with a slower turn than snacks and drinks, so inventory financing is the common request. A partner will ask about the license, the lease and sales by category. A store that sells both fuel and alcohol should show the two separately.
Coolers, pumps and point-of-sale equipment
Walk-in coolers, reach-in doors, ice machines, pump dispensers and payment terminals are financed as equipment, often as a package. Installed coolers may be treated as part of the building, so check the lease and ask the partner how it treats them.
Illustration only, invented figures: a 12-door cooler at $46,000 plus $8,500 installation and a $6,200 point-of-sale upgrade make a $60,700 package (our sum).
Gas stations in the Blue Earth County, MN Census counts
Gasoline stations, which include stations with convenience stores, had 31 employer establishments in Blue Earth County, MN in 2023, with 508 employees and $13.1 million in annual payroll; 7 of them, or 22.6%, had fewer than five employees (CBP 2023, NAICS 4471). ZIP 56001 had 18 of the 31 (ZBP 2023). Our arithmetic: about 16.4 employees per station.
Convenience stores without fuel are counted within grocery stores at this level, and the county figure for that narrower group was not published. Retail trade as a whole had 280 employer establishments (CBP 2023).
Card sales and merchant cash advances
High card volume makes stations a frequent target for merchant cash advance offers. An advance is not a loan: a share of receipts is collected until the purchased amount is delivered. On fuel, where the margin per gallon is small, a collection taken from total card sales can absorb much of the margin, so total every remittance before agreeing.
Remodeling the store side
A store remodel such as new flooring, lighting, a food-service counter or restrooms is a one-time project with contractor bids, which fits a term loan. Partners will ask for the bids, the lease or property terms and the store's sales history. If the station must close pumps or the store during the work, include the lost sales in the plan.
- Separate the store remodel from any pump or canopy work in the bids.
- Confirm permits with the city before the work starts.
- Plan the stock reset after the remodel.
Fuel brand agreements and image upgrades
Branded stations sometimes face required image upgrades, such as new canopy fascia, signs or dispensers, under the fuel supply agreement. The agreement may also include incentives that are repaid if the station leaves the brand early. Read those terms before borrowing for an upgrade, because a partner will want to know whether the station could face a repayment obligation to its supplier.
Records a partner may request for a station
- Bank, card processing and tax records.
- Sales split by fuel and store.
- Fuel supply agreement and tank records.
- Lease or property terms.
- Equipment quotes.
See the retail store financing page and the auto repair page, county figures on the Mankato, MN page and all sectors under funding by industry.
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