Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about limited-service restaurant lending in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Small counter-service loans in the Capital Region
In Albany-Schenectady-Troy quick service is runner-up locally, 2 of 39, yet the loans are small: 52 of them, $9.5 million in all, between FY2017 and FY2026. The typical loan is $100,000, a mere 0.32x of the national class midpoint, and half the book sits between $46,500 and $255,000. Nationally the metro is 67 of 779 for this class, and a location quotient of 0.95x hugs parity.
Program use shows 46 loans on SBA 7(a) against 6 on SBA 504, and franchise flags appear on only 13.5%, so independent counters are the norm. Tickets this small point to conversions of existing space, equipment packages and working capital rather than ground-up construction, which a study should confirm for its own project.
Several holders appear
The Adirondack Trust Company heads the 7(a) list at 8 loans and $680,000. KeyBank National Association follows with 7 loans and $724,000, Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company shows 6 loans at $449,000, and Newtek Bank, National Association shows 5 loans and $1.8 million. Over on 504, Empire State Certified Development Corporation has 6 loans and $2.0 million. These are SBA's recorded holders and carry no verdict on any institution. Albany County, NY and Saratoga County, NY each contribute 20 loans, an even pairing that reflects how far the metro reaches north.
Both loss-side rates are withheld for this cohort, and the gaps must not be read as zeros. The years that print are FY2018 (6 loans, $1.2 million), FY2019 (6, $925,000), FY2021 (5, $708,000), FY2024 (6, $1.5 million), FY2025 (8, $2.7 million) and FY2026 (8, $719,900). FY2017, FY2020, FY2022 and FY2023 are not shown. The 2023 delineation decides which project counties belong to the metro.
Capital Region counter service: what to test
Traffic counts, hours of operation and competing counters near the exact corner come first. Fit-out and equipment must be costed against the $100,000 midpoint, and the sales model needs to carry debt service coverage with little margin for slippage at that size. A branded unit adds royalty and remodel obligations to the cash flow. Appraisers value the going concern together with its lease. Loan Analytics issues the finished work with Daniel Smith, MAI, as its signatory; no lender response is assured.
SBA limited-service restaurant loans in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 52 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $9.5 million |
| Median loan | $100,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $46,500 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $255,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 46 |
| SBA 504 loans | 6 |
| Franchise share of loans | 13.5% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas for limited-service restaurant loans | 67 of 779 |
| Rank of limited-service restaurant among the classes in this area | 2 of 39 |
| Location quotient (share of loans against the national share) | 0.95x |
| Median loan against the national median for the class | 0.32x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | withheld |
|---|---|
| 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 limited-service restaurant loans approved in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2018 | 6 | $1.2 million |
| FY2019 | 6 | $925,000 |
| FY2020 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2021 | 5 | $708,000 |
| FY2022 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2023 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2024 | 6 | $1.5 million |
| FY2025 | 8 | $2.7 million |
| FY2026 | 8 | $719,900 |
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Empire State Certified Development Corporation | 6 | $2.0 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| The Adirondack Trust Company | 8 | $680,000 |
| KeyBank National Association | 7 | $724,000 |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 6 | $449,000 |
| Newtek Bank, National Association | 5 | $1.8 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 |
|---|---|
| Albany County, NY | 20 |
| Saratoga County, NY | 20 |
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-10580-C35.
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