Chicago: grocery store

Chicago approved grocery store loans: 142 in FY2017 to FY2026, worth $137.3 million. Chicago ranks 4 of 412 for the class on 142 loans among metro areas; in Chicago, the class ranks 13 of 39. Chicago's location quotient reads 1.09x on 142 loans: a somewhat heavier concentration. In Chicago, ranks and the 1.09x quotient, from 142 loans, distinguish the class; Chicago size is 1.38x the national median.

$484,900 marks the median of 142 loans, well above the national figure (1.38x), and $122,000 to $1.4 million bounds Chicago's middle half. Of 142 loans in Chicago, 121 used 7(a) and 21 used 504. 5.6% is the franchise share of 142 loans; the rest are independents.

Chicago's 7(a) table, 34 loans at The Huntington National Bank, $6.6 million; 29 at Byline Bank, $51.4 million; 6 at U.S. Bank, National Association, $2.9 million. Chicago's 504 table, 13 loans at Small Business Growth Corporation, $22.6 million. Chicago: holders under 5 loans go unnamed. Chicago county counts, 142 loans: Cook County, IL 99; Lake County, IL 14; DuPage County, IL 13; Will County, IL 8.

The Chicago loans' fate

14.0% at minimum: Chicago's cancelled share through FY2024. Chicago's ceiling for undisbursed loans: withheld. Chicago: 10.3% or more are charged off among 58 FY2017 to FY2021 loans. Chicago withholds its five-year measure, not zero. Chicago floors may rise with open loans. Chicago approvals ran from 13 loans and $11.6 million in FY2017 to 11 loans and $16.9 million in FY2026, peaking at 18 in FY2021 and dipping to 11 in FY2024. Chicago loans per year: FY2017 13, FY2018 12, FY2019 13, FY2020 14, FY2021 18, FY2022 18, FY2023 15, FY2024 11, FY2025 17, FY2026 11. Yearly dollars: FY2017 $11.6 million, FY2018 $9.7 million, FY2019 $13.0 million, FY2020 $10.2 million, FY2021 $19.9 million, FY2022 $19.5 million, FY2023 $10.8 million, FY2024 $12.9 million, FY2025 $12.8 million, FY2026 $16.9 million.

Chicago: the study's tests

For 142 loans in Chicago, refrigeration costs outside $122,000 to $1.4 million need cases. For 142 approvals in Chicago, appraisers split building from business. Chicago saw approvals run from 11 in FY2024 to 18 in FY2021; for Chicago, plan for supplier shocks. Chicago's quotient, 1.09x: count rivals by distance. Across 142 loans, weekly sales in Chicago carries $484,900. Chicago: facing thin margins, debt service holds with $137.3 million approved.

Chicago's 142 loans are placed by project county. Chicago follows the July 2023 delineation. Chicago drops unplaceable counties from $137.3 million. Treat 142 loans as a guide to Chicago, not a census.

SBA grocery store loans in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	142
Gross dollars approved	$137.3 million
Median loan	$484,900
Middle half of loans, from	$122,000
Middle half of loans, to	$1.4 million
SBA 7(a) loans	121
SBA 504 loans	21
Franchise share of loans	5.6%
Rank among metro and micro areas for grocery store loans	4 of 412
Rank of grocery store among the classes in this area	13 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)	1.09x
Median loan against the national median for the class	1.38x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	14.0%
The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling)	withheld
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)	10.3%
Charged off within five years of approval	withheld
Loans in that cohort	58

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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	13	$11.6 million
FY2018	12	$9.7 million
FY2019	13	$13.0 million
FY2020	14	$10.2 million
FY2021	18	$19.9 million
FY2022	18	$19.5 million
FY2023	15	$10.8 million
FY2024	11	$12.9 million
FY2025	17	$12.8 million
FY2026	11	$16.9 million

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 504: lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Small Business Growth Corporation	13	$22.6 million

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
The Huntington National Bank	34	$6.6 million
Byline Bank	29	$51.4 million
U.S. Bank, National Association	6	$2.9 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
Cook County, IL	99
Lake County, IL	14
DuPage County, IL	13
Will County, IL	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-16980-C40.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a grocery store project in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area