Boulder: liquor store lending

Within Boulder, during FY2017 to FY2026, SBA's files show 36 liquor store loans, carrying $28.5 million of gross dollars approved. Inside Boulder, liquor store lending lands 2 of 39 on the list of asset classes; Boulder is placed at 25 of 426 across all metro and micro areas by liquor store loan count. Boulder's 3.13x location quotient gives liquor store more weight locally. The median loan for Boulder comes to $612,000. The central half of Boulder loans runs from $420,250 to $863,250, and the median stands at 1.36x of the nationwide class median. Concentration is the theme of this cell: a 3.13x location quotient, a single program, a single county, and one holder carrying 25 of the 36 loans. Liquor stores rank second among the local asset classes, and the loans are above the national class median at 1.36x.

Of Boulder's 36 loans, 36 are SBA 7(a), none SBA 504. A Boulder franchise figure is held back, so this cell gives no view of franchising. The Boulder lender tables show that Hanmi Bank is the holder of 25 SBA 7(a) loans, $18.8 million in all. Boulder's holder lines show today's holders only. Boulder applicants get no signal of institution standards from them. Every one of the 36 loans sits in Boulder County, CO.

Boulder: years, floors and limits

In Boulder, a few years can be shown: FY2018 shows 5 loans valued at $2.4 million; FY2021 records 5 loans worth $6.2 million. Withheld for Boulder: FY2017, FY2019, FY2020 and FY2022 to FY2026. The years held back for Boulder are not zeros. The Boulder cancellation rate: held back, short of 30 loans in the cohort. A charge-off rate for Boulder: suppressed, fewer than 30 loans in the cohort. Boulder's floor is Loan Analytics' own. Boulder has a short FY2017 to FY2021 cohort. Boulder follows the 2023 July list. A loan joins Boulder solely by way of its county. Boulder leaves out unmatched loans.

Boulder: what to test

In Boulder, a liquor store study has to test the trade area and licensing position of the exact site, and whether sales can carry a payment on a loan near the middle of $420,250 to $863,250. Inventory, building cost and sponsor equity should be laid out separately so a lender can see what the real estate carries. An appraiser will often separate the going-concern value of the store from the value of the premises, and the study should be ready to answer both questions.

SBA liquor store loans in the Boulder, CO Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	36
Gross dollars approved	$28.5 million
Median loan	$612,000
Middle half of loans, from	$420,250
Middle half of loans, to	$863,250
SBA 7(a) loans	36
SBA 504 loans	0
Franchise share of loans	withheld
Rank among metro and micro areas for liquor store loans	25 of 426
Rank of liquor store among the classes in this area	2 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)	3.13x
Median loan against the national median for the class	1.36x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
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 liquor store loans approved in the Boulder, CO Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	withheld	withheld
FY2018	5	$2.4 million
FY2019	withheld	withheld
FY2020	withheld	withheld
FY2021	5	$6.2 million
FY2022	withheld	withheld
FY2023	withheld	withheld
FY2024	withheld	withheld
FY2025	withheld	withheld
FY2026	withheld	withheld

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Hanmi Bank	25	$18.8 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
Boulder County, CO	36

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-14500-C37.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a liquor store project in the Boulder, CO 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

Liquor Store Feasibility Study in the Boulder, CO Metro Area