Coffee Shop Feasibility Study in Maine

Coffee that Maine takes seriously

Coffee shops and snack bars matter more inside Maine than across the country, though the dollars are small. The record from FY2017 to FY2026 holds 66 approvals totalling $14.2 million. The class ranks only 35 of 53 among the states, but it stands 4 of 39 within Maine itself, and the location quotient of 1.43x points to a clear overweight against the national mix. Loans are tiny: a median of $100,000 is just 0.42x the national figure, and the middle half runs from $42,100 to $250,000. These figures are read here as plain numbers for the cell.

Lenders and local reach

SBA 7(a) accounts for 55 loans and SBA 504 for 11, and franchises appear in 16.7% of loans. The lender table is broad, and SBA reports each name below as the present holder of its loans. TD Bank, National Association holds 10 loans totalling $617,500; Maine Community Bank has 9 worth $1.3 million; Bangor Savings Bank has 7 worth $1.1 million; Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company has 7 worth $375,000; and Norway Savings Bank has 5 worth $733,000. By county, Cumberland has 33 loans, York 13, Androscoggin 9 and Penobscot 3.

Year to year

The count dipped to 2 loans in FY2019 and came back to 6 in FY2020 at $3.2 million, the largest dollar year. FY2021 had 9 loans, FY2023 had 10, and the full year FY2026 ended at 9 loans worth $2.9 million. The data give no reason for the shape of these years, and this page offers none.

Cancellation floor and an absent rate

At least 5.8% of the approvals made across FY2017 to FY2024 fell away before funding, and treating unfunded loans as dropped leaves it there. Loan Analytics gives no charge-off rate in this cell, because the early window holds under 30 disbursed loans, which is too few for a percentage to mean much. Do not read the gap as no losses.

What the study should answer

The Maine question is whether demand through the whole year supports a shop, so the study should model traffic by quarter, locals against visitors, and the competing independents and chains within walking or driving range. A build-out near the $100,000 median is feasible for a small footprint, but a project aiming at a larger drive-through site has to justify the extra capital. Debt service coverage should be run on the weakest quarter alone, not an annual average, and the plan should separate lease costs from the equipment lender's collateral. The appraiser will find little real estate value in a leased shop, so cash flow carries the underwriting.