Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Albuquerque, NM Metro Area

Albuquerque's limited-service record has an unusual feature: every one of the 42 loans went through 7(a), and 504 shows 0 loans, a printed zero and not a hidden value. Franchise units are 64.3% of loans, so this is a brand-system market. The class leads the area's list at 1 of 39, the area ranks 79 in a field of 779 and the location quotient of 0.97x is just under parity.

Sizes and geography

The $314,750 median is 1.01x the national class median, almost exactly in line, and the central loans range from $151,250 to $623,000. The file totals $18.8 million across FY2017 to FY2026. Bernalillo County, NM supplies 37 of the loans, so the book is nearly all one county. One bank clears the display threshold: U.S. Bank, National Association, at 8 loans and $2.3 million.

Few years visible

FY2019 shows 6 loans and $1.8 million and FY2020 6 loans and $1.6 million. Loan Analytics withholds every other year. Loan Analytics also withholds the cancellation rate, while a charge-off rate is missing since that cohort holds under 30 loans. Neither is a zero, so anyone wanting loss context has to turn to the New Mexico or national pages.

Testing a franchised unit in Albuquerque

A study should start with the franchise agreement and the brand's development rules, then move to the site: traffic, drive-thru stacking, access from the major roads, visibility and the density of competing units. Since all loans in the file are 7(a), the cost test usually concerns leasehold build-out, equipment and working capital, and the franchisor's own cost figures deserve comparison with the $314,750 median. Labor and wage assumptions deserve a clear line. Debt service coverage should assume a slow opening ramp and a weak-month case. A lender looking at a heavily branded book will ask for the sponsor's multi-unit record. Metro membership follows the July 2023 definitions, and the lender line reflects what SBA records the bank as holding or having held. The study should add a realistic count of units the sponsor already operates, the age of the brand's concept in New Mexico, and how sales at existing units compare with the franchisor's published averages, since an operator's own results are the best evidence a lender sees.