Grocery Store Feasibility Study in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about grocery store lending in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Atlanta: grocery store
Atlanta approved grocery store loans: 81 in FY2017 to FY2026, worth $88.1 million. Atlanta ranks 8 of 412 for the class on 81 loans among metro areas; in Atlanta, the class ranks 15 of 39. Atlanta's location quotient reads 0.93x on 81 loans: a lighter concentration. In Atlanta, ranks and the 0.93x quotient, from 81 loans, distinguish the class; Atlanta size is 2.20x the national median.
$775,000 marks the median of 81 loans, well above the national figure (2.20x), and $350,000 to $1.2 million bounds Atlanta's middle half. Of 81 loans in Atlanta, 69 used 7(a) and 12 used 504. 6.2% is the franchise share of 81 loans; the rest are independents.
Atlanta's 7(a) table, 11 loans at Metro City Bank, $9.1 million; 9 at Loyal Trust Bank, $10.7 million. Atlanta: holders under 5 loans go unnamed. Atlanta county counts, 81 loans: Fulton County, GA 20; DeKalb County, GA 19; Gwinnett County, GA 19; Forsyth County, GA 6; Cobb County, GA 5.
The Atlanta loans' fate
9.5% at minimum: Atlanta's cancelled share through FY2024. Atlanta's ceiling for undisbursed loans: withheld. Atlanta charge-offs: too few, not zero. Atlanta floors may rise with open loans. Atlanta approvals ran from 7 loans and $8.9 million in FY2017 to 7 loans and $12.8 million in FY2026, peaking at 12 in FY2021 and dipping to 7 in FY2017. Atlanta loans per year: FY2017 7, FY2021 12, FY2022 10, FY2025 11, FY2026 7. Yearly dollars: FY2017 $8.9 million, FY2021 $14.0 million, FY2022 $9.2 million, FY2025 $9.8 million, FY2026 $12.8 million. Withheld Atlanta years are not zero.
Atlanta: the study's tests
For 81 loans in Atlanta, refrigeration costs outside $350,000 to $1.2 million need cases. For 81 approvals in Atlanta, appraisers split building from business. Atlanta approvals ran from 7 in FY2017 to 12 in FY2021; for Atlanta, plan for supplier shocks. Atlanta's quotient, 0.93x: count rivals by distance. Across 81 loans, weekly sales in Atlanta carries $775,000. Atlanta: facing thin margins, debt service holds with $88.1 million approved.
Atlanta's 81 loans are placed by project county. Atlanta follows the July 2023 delineation. Atlanta drops unplaceable counties from $88.1 million. Treat 81 loans as a guide to Atlanta, not a census.
SBA grocery store loans in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 81 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $88.1 million |
| Median loan | $775,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $350,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $1.2 million |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 69 |
| SBA 504 loans | 12 |
| Franchise share of loans | 6.2% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas for grocery store loans | 8 of 412 |
| Rank of grocery store among the classes in this area | 15 of 39 |
| Location quotient (share of loans against the national share) | 0.93x |
| Median loan against the national median for the class | 2.20x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 9.5% |
|---|---|
| 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 grocery store loans approved in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 7 | $8.9 million |
| FY2018 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2019 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2020 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2021 | 12 | $14.0 million |
| FY2022 | 10 | $9.2 million |
| FY2023 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2024 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2025 | 11 | $9.8 million |
| FY2026 | 7 | $12.8 million |
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Metro City Bank | 11 | $9.1 million |
| Loyal Trust Bank | 9 | $10.7 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 |
|---|---|
| Fulton County, GA | 20 |
| DeKalb County, GA | 19 |
| Gwinnett County, GA | 19 |
| Forsyth County, GA | 6 |
| Cobb County, GA | 5 |
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-12060-C40.
Related feasibility study pages
- Grocery store feasibility study consultant
- Feasibility Study Data for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area
- Grocery Store Feasibility Study in Georgia
- Georgia feasibility studies for SBA and USDA loans
- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
- SBA feasibility study consultant
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- Grocery Store Feasibility Study in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area
- Grocery Store Feasibility Study in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area
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