Boston: grocery store

SBA records 116 grocery store loans for Boston, with $28.1 million approved from FY2017 to FY2026. Boston holds spot 5 of 412 among metro areas on 116 loans; in Boston, the class holds 11 of 39. Boston: the 1.19x quotient shows a somewhat heavier concentration. With 116 loans behind it, $100,000 in Boston sits near its parents; ranks and the 1.19x quotient decide.

$100,000 in Boston, well below the national median (0.28x), is its median; Boston's middle half spans $45,750 to $250,000. Program choice in Boston: 102 used 7(a), 14 used 504. 0.00% of the 116 loans went to franchisees.

Boston's 7(a) table, 47 loans held by Eastern Bank, $5.3 million; 8 held by TD Bank, National Association, $655,000; 6 held by Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, $625,000; 5 held by Leader Bank, National Association, $470,000; 5 held by Santander Bank, National Association, $400,000. Boston's 504 table, 5 loans held by Granite State Economic Development Corporation, $830,000. Boston leaves holders under 5 loans unnamed. Boston counties, of 116 loans: Middlesex County, MA 39; Suffolk County, MA 27; Essex County, MA 22; Norfolk County, MA 10; Plymouth County, MA 10.

Outcome floors in Boston and approvals

8.6% or more of Boston approvals were cancelled by FY2024. Boston's undisbursed-loan ceiling is withheld. Boston charge-off floor: withheld, not zero. Boston: the cohort is too small. Boston open loans may raise floors. Boston, moving from 5 loans and $177,000 in FY2017, ended on 6 loans and $3.5 million in FY2026; the peak was 20 loans and $4.6 million in FY2024, the trough 5 in FY2017. Loans by year in Boston: FY2017 5, FY2018 15, FY2019 5, FY2020 12, FY2021 12, FY2022 13, FY2023 11, FY2024 20, FY2025 17, FY2026 6. Dollars per year: FY2017 $177,000, FY2018 $2.4 million, FY2019 $331,000, FY2020 $1.3 million, FY2021 $6.3 million, FY2022 $4.9 million, FY2023 $1.1 million, FY2024 $4.6 million, FY2025 $3.3 million, FY2026 $3.5 million.

Boston: what a feasibility study must prove

Boston: facing thin margins, debt service holds with $28.1 million approved. For 116 loans in Boston, refrigeration costs outside $45,750 to $250,000 need cases. For 116 approvals in Boston, appraisers split building from business. Boston approvals ran from 5 in FY2017 to 20 in FY2024; for Boston, plan for supplier shocks. Boston's quotient, 1.19x: count rivals by distance. Across 116 loans, weekly sales in Boston carries $100,000.

Boston counts 116 loans by project county. Boston borders follow the July 2023 delineation. Boston omits counties it cannot place. 116 loans are a rough guide to Boston, not a census.

SBA grocery store loans in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	116
Gross dollars approved	$28.1 million
Median loan	$100,000
Middle half of loans, from	$45,750
Middle half of loans, to	$250,000
SBA 7(a) loans	102
SBA 504 loans	14
Franchise share of loans	0.00%
Rank among metro and micro areas for grocery store loans	5 of 412
Rank of grocery store among the classes in this area	11 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)	1.19x
Median loan against the national median for the class	0.28x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	8.6%
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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	5	$177,000
FY2018	15	$2.4 million
FY2019	5	$331,000
FY2020	12	$1.3 million
FY2021	12	$6.3 million
FY2022	13	$4.9 million
FY2023	11	$1.1 million
FY2024	20	$4.6 million
FY2025	17	$3.3 million
FY2026	6	$3.5 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	5	$830,000

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Eastern Bank	47	$5.3 million
TD Bank, National Association	8	$655,000
Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company	6	$625,000
Leader Bank, National Association	5	$470,000
Santander Bank, National Association	5	$400,000

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	39
Suffolk County, MA	27
Essex County, MA	22
Norfolk County, MA	10
Plymouth County, MA	10

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-C40.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a grocery store 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

Grocery Store Feasibility Study in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area