Baton Rouge: quick-service restaurant lending

In Baton Rouge, between FY2017 and FY2026, SBA's data list 37 quick-service restaurant loans, adding up to $25.5 million in gross approvals. In Baton Rouge, quick-service restaurant lending comes in at 2 of 39 when the classes are lined up. Nationally, Baton Rouge lands at 94 of 779 among every metro and micro area by quick-service restaurant loan count. Baton Rouge's location quotient is 1.15x: more weight than nationally. A typical Baton Rouge loan, measured by the median, is $391,300. The central half of Baton Rouge loans extends from $251,000 to $871,000, and the median stands at a 1.26x multiple of the national class median. The 1.26x median ratio is the figure a borrower should hold against any plan, since it says quick-service projects in this metro have run larger than the typical one elsewhere. Restaurants of this type are the second-ranked class here, and franchised units are a clear majority of the record.

Neither program count, 7(a) or 504, is printed for this metro; Loan Analytics withholds both. Franchised units represent 67.6% of the Baton Rouge loans. Among lenders named for Baton Rouge Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company has $2.3 million on its books in 5 SBA 7(a) loans. Baton Rouge's holder rows record current holders only. Baton Rouge applicants learn nothing of lender requirements from them. Across counties: East Baton Rouge Parish, LA has 19 loans.

Baton Rouge: years, floors and limits

In Baton Rouge, a few years can be given: FY2018 shows 6 loans totalling $3.8 million; FY2022 has 6 loans valued at $5.4 million; FY2026 has 11 loans worth $7.8 million. In FY2025, Baton Rouge records 0 loans and $0. These Baton Rouge years are held back: FY2017, FY2019 to FY2021, FY2023 and FY2024. The years held back for Baton Rouge are not zeros. The Baton Rouge cancellation rate: not published, fewer than 30 loans in all. The Baton Rouge charge-off rate: not given, fewer than 30 loans. Baton Rouge's cut-off is ours, not SBA's. Baton Rouge falls short in its FY2017 to FY2021 loan group. The July 2023 list defines Baton Rouge. Each loan reaches Baton Rouge by way of its county. Baton Rouge omits unmatched loans.

Baton Rouge: what to test

Before a Baton Rouge quick-service project goes to a lender, its study should test the trade area around the exact site, the sales a franchised or independent unit must reach to carry a loan near the middle of $251,000 to $871,000, and the building or conversion cost set against that sales level. The loan payment should be covered at a cautious sales volume, since the printed years swing from 0 loans in FY2025 to 11 in FY2026. The appraisal weighs the business income as well as the real estate, so the sales forecast needs a basis an appraiser can check.

SBA limited-service restaurant loans in the Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	37
Gross dollars approved	$25.5 million
Median loan	$391,300
Middle half of loans, from	$251,000
Middle half of loans, to	$871,000
SBA 7(a) loans	withheld
SBA 504 loans	withheld
Franchise share of loans	67.6%
Rank among metro and micro areas for limited-service restaurant loans	94 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)	1.15x
Median loan against the national median for the class	1.26x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
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 Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	withheld	withheld
FY2018	6	$3.8 million
FY2019	withheld	withheld
FY2020	withheld	withheld
FY2021	withheld	withheld
FY2022	6	$5.4 million
FY2023	withheld	withheld
FY2024	withheld	withheld
FY2025	0	$0
FY2026	11	$7.8 million

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company	5	$2.3 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
East Baton Rouge Parish, LA	19

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-12940-C35.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a limited-service restaurant project in the Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.

Daniel Smith, MAI

Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area