Liquor Store Feasibility Study in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area

A median that differs

Detroit-area liquor stores carry one figure that differs from the metro's overall record and from the class nationwide: the median loan of $661,000, about 1.47x the class's national median. The location quotient of 2.40x is also high, the area is 5 of 426 for liquor store loans, and in the local table of classes, liquor stores are third. SBA approved 279 loans from FY2017 to FY2026, worth $202.0 million.

Sizes and program mix

The middle half starts at $160,000 and reaches $1.1 million, so the range is wide. SBA 7(a) accounts for 274 loans and SBA 504 for only 5. The franchise share is withheld. Wayne County supplies 168 loans, Oakland 55, Macomb 39 and St. Clair 12. Annual counts fell to 16 in FY2020 and climbed to 41 in FY2025, a year with $35.2 million; FY2023 had 37 loans and $37.9 million, the series' top dollar year.

Lender concentration

The Huntington National Bank holds 73 loans worth $23.2 million, but First Internet Bank of Indiana holds 49 worth $60.6 million, an average several times Huntington's. Fifth Third Bank holds 25, BankUnited, National Association 15 and Byline Bank 14. Because SBA names the current holder, a loan may have moved since it was made, and the figures say nothing about what any holder asks of a borrower.

Cancellation floor, and what is withheld

Cancellation after approval reached a minimum of 16.7% in FY2017 through FY2024, a high floor. Three values never reach this page: the franchise share, the cancellation rate that includes undisbursed loans, and the charge-off rate, each resting on too few loans. None is printed and none is zero, which leaves Detroit liquor stores without a loss figure of their own; a reader needing one should turn to statewide pages.

Testing a Detroit-area liquor store

At a $661,000 median, many projects combine an existing business with its real estate, so a study should value the two separately and show what each earns. A Michigan liquor license, its transferability and local limits near the site are threshold facts. Coverage should be tested on post-sale revenue and on a weaker case, since the high cancellation floor suggests approvals often fail to close. Competing outlets within a short drive have to be counted, and the appraisal will test whether the claimed sales fit the neighborhood. Geography follows July 2023 areas, and counties that cannot be placed are left out.