Coffee Shop Feasibility Study in the Akron, OH Metro Area

Akron coffee shops: the smallest tickets in this set

The median loan for coffee shops and snack bars in the Akron, OH Metro Area is $55,250, only 0.23x the nationwide median. That is the plainest fact on the page. The class holds 8 of 39 locally, the area is 52 of 612 for the class, and a 0.82x location quotient puts coffee shops a little under their national weight. FY2017 to FY2026 holds 28 approvals totaling $6.5 million, all under 7(a) (504 has 0).

The shape of the book

Loans from $25,000 to $341,475 make up the middle half, so even the upper edge is modest. Franchised shops are 32.1% of loans. Summit County, OH has 19 loans and Portage County, OH has 9. FY2021 shows no approvals ($0). Detail for other years is suppressed, because small counts are suppressed. The Huntington National Bank holds 22 loans valued at $2.0 million on SBA's books, and that is custody, not origination. That is most of the area's 28 loans.

What is blank

Akron: empty cancellation and charge-off cells, since 28 loans cannot support a rate, so do not read it as zero.

Implications of such small loans

Loans this small usually finance equipment, a leasehold build-out and opening cash rather than property. For a borrower that means the request will be judged on projected sales and personal experience more than on collateral. For a lender it means that file quality, not asset value, protects the loan, so the study's revenue build-up carries more weight than its real estate section.

What an Akron coffee study should test

The study should set out ticket count per hour across morning, midday and afternoon, the average ticket, and the site features that deliver them, such as a drive-thru lane or foot traffic from neighboring uses. Equipment lists, especially espresso machines, grinders and refrigeration, need quotes. Wage schedules and opening hours drive labor cost, and the lease needs a term that outlasts the loan. If the concept is branded, royalties come before the debt payment. Lenders test coverage on a cautious ramp, and the study should show how many months of losses working capital must cover before the shop reaches breakeven.