Boston: coffee shop and snack bar

Boston drew 129 coffee shop and snack bar loans worth $30.7 million between FY2017 and FY2026. Boston places 13 of 612 nationally for the class on 129 loans; in Boston, the class takes 9 of 39. In Boston, a quotient of 0.66x makes the class much less common. Boston is told apart by rank and a 0.66x quotient, not by size at $144,000.

$144,000 is typical in Boston, in a middle half $50,000 to $304,000; against the national median that is 0.60x, well below it. Boston lending ran 117 through 7(a) against 12 through 504. 20.2% of 129 Boston loans are franchised.

Boston's 7(a) table, 22 loans through Eastern Bank, $3.2 million; 14 through TD Bank, National Association, $550,000; 12 through Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, $2.1 million; 7 through Rockland Trust Company, $1.5 million; 6 through The Huntington National Bank, $2.3 million. Boston's 504 table, 7 loans through Granite State Economic Development Corporation, $2.5 million. Boston: unnamed holders have under 5 loans. 129 loans in Boston, by county: Middlesex County, MA 34; Suffolk County, MA 22; Essex County, MA 20; Plymouth County, MA 19; Rockingham County, NH 14; Norfolk County, MA 12; Strafford County, NH 8.

Cancellations in Boston and charge-offs

In Boston, cancellations took 12.2% or more of Boston's FY2017 to FY2024 approvals. Boston: undisbursed-loan ceiling withheld, not zero. Boston withholds charge-off floor, not zero. Boston floors rise as loans age. Of Boston's 129 loans, the high year held 21 in FY2025 and the low year 7 in FY2019; FY2026 shows 18 loans and $5.7 million. Yearly loan counts for Boston: FY2017 12, FY2018 15, FY2019 7, FY2020 16, FY2021 9, FY2022 9, FY2023 10, FY2024 12, FY2025 21, FY2026 18. Dollars by year: FY2017 $1.7 million, FY2018 $2.2 million, FY2019 $1.6 million, FY2020 $3.3 million, FY2021 $2.0 million, FY2022 $1.3 million, FY2023 $2.2 million, FY2024 $1.8 million, FY2025 $8.8 million, FY2026 $5.7 million.

Boston: testing the project

For 129 loans in Boston, espresso costs outside $50,000 to $304,000 need cases. For 129 approvals in Boston, appraisers weigh lease and traffic. Counts in Boston moved from 7 in FY2019 to 21 in FY2025; for Boston, plan for weak afternoons. Boston's quotient, 0.66x: count rivals by commuter route. Across 129 loans, morning ticket counts in Boston carries $144,000. Boston: facing weak afternoons, debt service holds with $30.7 million approved.

129 loans fall in Boston by project county. Boston follows July 2023 delineation by county. Boston leaves out unplaceable counties. No census here: 129 loans give Boston a guide only.

SBA coffee shop and snack bar loans in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	129
Gross dollars approved	$30.7 million
Median loan	$144,000
Middle half of loans, from	$50,000
Middle half of loans, to	$304,000
SBA 7(a) loans	117
SBA 504 loans	12
Franchise share of loans	20.2%
Rank among metro and micro areas for coffee shop and snack bar loans	13 of 612
Rank of coffee shop and snack bar among the classes in this area	9 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)	0.66x
Median loan against the national median for the class	0.60x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	12.2%
The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling)	withheld
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)	withheld

Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.

SBA coffee shop and snack bar loans approved in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	12	$1.7 million
FY2018	15	$2.2 million
FY2019	7	$1.6 million
FY2020	16	$3.3 million
FY2021	9	$2.0 million
FY2022	9	$1.3 million
FY2023	10	$2.2 million
FY2024	12	$1.8 million
FY2025	21	$8.8 million
FY2026	18	$5.7 million

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 504: lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Granite State Economic Development Corporation	7	$2.5 million

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Eastern Bank	22	$3.2 million
TD Bank, National Association	14	$550,000
Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company	12	$2.1 million
Rockland Trust Company	7	$1.5 million
The Huntington National Bank	6	$2.3 million

Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.

Where the loans are, by county

County	Loans
Middlesex County, MA	34
Suffolk County, MA	22
Essex County, MA	20
Plymouth County, MA	19
Rockingham County, NH	14
Norfolk County, MA	12
Strafford County, NH	8

Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.

Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.

A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MA-14460-C39.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a coffee shop and snack bar project in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.

Daniel Smith, MAI

Coffee Shop Feasibility Study in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area