Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metro Area

Lehigh Valley counters: right at the national mark

Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton sits almost exactly on the national line for quick service. A location quotient of 0.99x says the class takes about its national share; locally it is runner-up, 2 of 39, and the metro stands 78 of 779 in the national table. SBA recorded 43 loans and $18.5 million for FY2017 to FY2026. Borrowers in the Lehigh Valley sit at a $342,000 midpoint, 1.10x next to the national class, and their central loans start at $163,000 and end at $682,850.

Franchise flags cover 34.9% of loans, leaving brands on a minority of the loans. The 7(a) versus 504 split is not printed for Lehigh Valley counters; Loan Analytics withholds it. The metro crosses the state line, so New Jersey counties belong to it, although the named rows below are both in Pennsylvania.

Lenders and counties

Both Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB ($2.2 million) and The Huntington National Bank ($1.9 million) show 6 loans, under 7(a). Listing a lender is a matter of record, not of recommendation, and no practice is judged by it. Northampton County, PA has 19 loans and Lehigh County, PA 16, so the two valley counties between them hold most of the record.

Lehigh Valley quick service prints no cancellation rate, because the cohort has too few loans (under 30), while the charge-off rate is kept out of print under Loan Analytics' small-count rule; the two blanks reflect thin counts and are not zeros. The yearly record prints only FY2024 with 9 loans and $3.2 million, FY2025 with 7 and $4.6 million and FY2026 with 7 and $2.3 million, and the file shows an empty FY2020. Loan Analytics withholds the six earlier years, so recent lending is visible and the earlier cycle is not. For the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro, a loan is in or out according to whether its project county falls inside the 2023 delineation.

What a Lehigh Valley quick service study must test

A study should count commuter corridors, nearby employers and campus calendars, and the competing brands within the actual trade area. The build-out is set against the $342,000 midpoint and sales less royalties and food cost must carry debt service coverage. Valuation covers the going restaurant and the lease. No outcome at a bank is guaranteed by it.