Liquor Store Feasibility Study in the Fresno, CA Metro Area

Fresno liquor stores: an all-7(a) class with above-average tickets

Every liquor store loan in the Fresno, CA Metro Area is a 7(a) loan: 28 of 28, with 504 at 0. Add a franchise share of 0.00% and the picture is one of independent shops financed through the working capital program. The class holds 8 of 39 on the local list and 34 of 426 nationally, and a 1.70x location quotient shows liquor stores counting for more in Fresno lending than in the country's. The $545,000 median is 1.21x the nationwide median, and the 28 approvals of FY2017 to FY2026 total $16.4 million.

What the middle of the book looks like

Loans from $354,250 to $769,550 make up the middle half, a notably tight band for a retail class. Only FY2021 prints, with 5 loans and $2.4 million. Detail for other years is suppressed, as yearly counts inside 28 loans are small. Two holders sit near the top in SBA's data. For Celtic Bank Corporation, the holder record shows 8 loans and $4.6 million, and no lending preference follows. 7 loans worth $5.3 million sit with Commonwealth Business Bank in SBA's holder data, a record of custody only. The second holder has fewer loans but the larger dollar total, so its average loan is larger.

Floors and limits

Fresno lacks cancellation or charge-off floors, because the early group inside 28 loans is thin, and a blank is not a zero. No county breakdown is printed for this area, so readers cannot see how the loans divide among the area's counties.

Reading the program pattern

Because no loan here used the real estate program, the typical file is a business acquisition or a leasehold store with inventory and fixtures. A lender reading such a file leans on cash flow, the license and the lease, since there is no building to anchor value. A borrower who plans to buy the real estate would be outside the pattern this page shows and should expect closer questions.

What a Fresno liquor store study must test

The study should rebuild sales by product category, test margins against what comparable stores report, and show how the site's traffic and neighbors support them. The license is a gating item: its type, its transferability and the timing of approval all belong in the schedule. Shrinkage, security and staffing during opening hours need budgets. Inventory is the largest working capital need and the opening order should be priced apart from fit-out. Lease length against loan term matters, because a short lease on a business without owned property puts the loan at risk. Coverage of the payment should hold on cautious sales.