Liquor Store Feasibility Study in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area

A District-centered file with no franchises

Liquor store lending in the Washington area centers on the District of Columbia itself, which has 94 of the file's loans, with Prince George's County at 33, Montgomery County at 19, Frederick County at 9 and Fairfax County at 8. Between FY2017 and FY2026 SBA approved 168 liquor store loans worth $117.0 million. Among 426 areas it stands eighth for the class, although liquor stores take only seventh place among the area's 39. The location quotient is 1.52x, so the class counts for clearly more in Washington lending than it does across the country.

The median loan of $467,500 is 1.04x the national median, close to the class norm, and half of loans fall between $150,000 and $980,000. Franchise share is 0.00%, so the borrowers are all independents. The 7(a) and 504 counts are held back for this cell, so neither is printed.

Hanmi, M&T and the others

The list below names whoever SBA shows holding each 7(a) loan today. Hanmi Bank has 47 loans worth $49.6 million, Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company with 34 ($6.7 million), Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB 10 worth $9.6 million, The Huntington National Bank 8 worth $3.4 million and Open Bank 6 worth $8.9 million. Hanmi's 47 loans carry $49.6 million, while Manufacturers and Traders' 34 carry $6.7 million, so Hanmi's loans are far larger on average. These are facts about holdings; they do not describe the policy of any holder.

Between FY2017 and FY2024, 11.6% or more of approvals were cancelled. Loan Analytics suppresses two further numbers for this cell as too thinly supported: a ceiling for cancellation, and a rate of charge-off. They are blank and they are not zero. Annual approvals were 22 in FY2017 and FY2018, only 8 in FY2020 and 7 in FY2024, before reaching 20 in FY2025, worth $11.0 million.

What a Washington-area liquor study must test

Licensing comes first, and it varies by jurisdiction, each with its own limits on the number of licenses, distance rules and transfer procedure. The study should confirm that the license is available or transferable before it models sales. Demand rests on the households and workers nearby and on the competing stores. Inventory is a heavy working-capital use, so cash flow must fund stock before the first sale. The appraisal should value the license and inventory apart from any real estate. A loan whose project county is not found on the July 2023 list is missing from every area figure on this page, so the Washington totals are lower bounds.