Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Boise City, ID Metro Area

Second in its own metro, modest nationally

Limited-service restaurants are the second-ranked asset class among the 39 in the Boise City area. Nationally the area is 49 of 779, with 75 loans approved from FY2017 to FY2026 totalling $39.0 million. The location quotient of 0.76x says Boise's share of loans going to quick-service concepts is below the national share.

Smaller tickets, franchise-heavy

A midpoint of $350,000 is 1.13x the national class midpoint, and the central half of loans spans $168,500 to $643,400. Franchise concepts account for 73.3% of loans. By program, 68 loans are under 7(a) against only 7 in 504.

Lenders and geography

Idaho Central CU holds 7 loans for $3.7 million, The Huntington National Bank 6 for $1.5 million, Northwest Bank (ID) 5 for $1.9 million, Washington Trust Bank 5 for $1.6 million and Mountain America FCU 5 for $1.4 million. Each count is the holder SBA currently lists. Ada County accounts for 55 of the area's loans, and the area is defined by the July 2023 statistical delineation of the project county.

Years and losses

Annual counts shown here run from 6 loans and $2.6 million in FY2017 to 11 loans and $9.0 million in FY2025, with FY2023 at 10 loans for $6.0 million and FY2026 at 6 loans for $3.0 million. Loan Analytics holds back FY2020 and FY2021, each with too few loans; neither is zero. Cancellation after approval ran at 10.3% or more for loans approved FY2017 through FY2024. Read that as a floor, not a full count; the ceiling version is withheld along with the charge-off rate.

Testing a Boise quick-service project

A study should start with site traffic, drive-through geometry and the competing brands along the same corridors, then test whether the concept's sales can carry rent or a mortgage. For a franchise, the franchisor's own disclosure of unit economics should be compared with local labor and food costs. Payment coverage ought to be modelled on a ramp, and the appraisal has to separate the going concern from the building. The cancellation floor is a reminder that some approved projects never close, so timing of permits and equipment lead times belong in the schedule.