Coffee Shop Feasibility Study in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area

Coffee shops in the Atlanta area

Coffee shops and snack bars account for 184 SBA loans in Atlanta between FY2017 and FY2026, worth $84.4 million, sixth of 612 areas and tenth of 39 locally. At 1.06x the location quotient sits barely above the national share, while a median of $349,950 is 1.46x the nationwide midpoint, with quartiles at $150,000 and $532,500. That size premium is the cell's clearest difference from the class elsewhere.

Almost entirely 7(a)

Of the 184 loans, 179 went through 7(a) and 5 through 504, so the cell is about working capital, equipment and takeovers of existing shops. Franchise affiliation is 55.4% of loans. The 7(a) holders SBA lists are The Huntington National Bank with 28 loans worth $10.1 million, Newtek Small Business Finance, LLC with 10 worth $4.3 million, Georgia Banking Company with 8 worth $2.4 million, Metro City Bank with 6 worth $11.8 million and Citizens Bank (TN) with 5 worth $2.6 million. Metro City Bank's dollars on fewer loans show a different average loan size and say nothing about practice. No 504 holder has enough loans to be named.

Counties and the years

Fulton County has 41 loans, Gwinnett 34, Cobb 27 and DeKalb 25, with Cherokee, Fayette and Forsyth at 8 each. The yearly table shows growth: 24 loans and $13.4 million in FY2024, 38 loans and $16.0 million in FY2025 and 35 loans and $17.1 million in FY2026. Several early years are blank because loans are few, which does not make them zero, and the franchise share of 55.4% should be read as the only ownership signal available.

Withheld values and the study

Cancellations after approval are 9.0% or more of FY2017 to FY2024 approved loans, a floor. Also withheld, and also not zero, are the ceiling on cancellations and the charge-off rate. Atlanta takes in a loan when the project county name matches the 2023 map. A coffee shop study should test commuter and neighbourhood traffic, competition within walking distance, lease cost against sales, equipment and build-out budget, the franchisor's disclosures if a brand applies, debt service coverage across those quartiles, and an appraisal of a leased business whose value rests on trade and not on land.