Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area

One holder leads, and the program split is not printed

Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company holds 70 of the SBA 7(a) loans around Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, far ahead of The Huntington National Bank with 15 and Fulton Bank, National Association with 8, then Newtek Bank, National Association and Truist Bank with 6 each. The 70 loans total $12.8 million, an average well under the $300,000 median loan. Loan Analytics does not print how the 179 loans divide between SBA 7(a) and SBA 504, so neither program count appears, and the lender counts are holder data, not a verdict on practice.

Between FY2017 and FY2026 the cell accumulates $66.9 million. The market holds position 28 of 779 nationally for limited-service restaurants, and the class is 2 of 39 locally. The location quotient of 1.03x is almost the national share. The median is $300,000, only 0.96x the national value for the class, and the lower and upper quartile are $62,500 and $489,000. Franchised units are 45.8%, so franchisor fees belong in any budget for close to half the projects.

Counties and years

Baltimore County, MD leads with 55 of the 179 loans, then Anne Arundel County, MD with 35, Baltimore city, MD with 32, Howard County, MD with 26, Harford County, MD with 20 and Carroll County, MD with 11. Approvals were 19 loans and $7.1 million in FY2017, fell to 8 loans and $2.5 million in FY2020, and rose to 33 loans and $14.7 million in FY2025 and 27 in FY2026, so FY2025 stands well above FY2020.

Cancellation among the FY2017 to FY2024 approvals starts at 11.8%. Loan Analytics withholds the ceiling together with the charge-off rate, which leaves Baltimore with neither and no nil. Area membership rests on the project county placed in the 2023 delineation.

Testing a Baltimore quick-service project

A study should count traffic, visibility and rival brands around the site in Baltimore County or Anne Arundel County, price the building or conversion against $300,000, and test any franchisor fee schedule. Daily transactions must carry debt service, and the appraisal tests the site. A record of 179 loans decides nothing for one particular project.