Open wide and you can almost taste the cheesy and meaty goodness of a Steak’M Take’M Cheesesteak. That savory glory reaches a bigger audience now that the family-owned restaurant expanded to a third location with help from AltCap.

Steak’M Take’M, fast food restaurant, has served up Philly cheesesteak sandwiches since opening in 1995. Ervin Ross and his sons, Shelton and Micah, operate three locations in Kansas City, Missouri. The first restaurant is located at 77th Street and Troost Avenue. They opened a second location in 2014 at 87th Street and Blue Ridge Boulevard.

But when they began the process to open a third location at 31st Street and Hardesty Avenue, they ran into a problem.

“We had the credit, we had a decent amount of money saved up, but still were not able to get a loan through the traditional way. Given that, I actually didn’t really know where to turn. I never feel hopefulness, but I felt damn near hopeless,” Shelton explained.

It was then that Ervin learned about AltCap. Steak’M Take’M qualified for a microloan from AltCap allowing them to open their third location. "In the beginning part of the process, Davin would come out to my actual restaurant to me. It felt like he was kind of going out of his way to take care of different needs or questions that I might have, maybe getting some paperwork signed or helping me fill out paperwork properly,” said Shelton.

The capital was used to buy materials and pay for labor as they rehabbed the building. Shelton sees more locations and franchising in the next five years. “In five years, I see my business being franchised across the nation. That is the ultimate goal.” Says Ervin

Beyond the financial assistance, Shelton was drawn to AltCap because they want to improve the inner city, which is something he is passionate about. His most important project is to start a scholarship program for high school students near each Steak’M Take’M location.