Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Columbia, MO Metro Area

A small median in a market that leans heavily on this class

Counter-service restaurants take the top spot, 1 of 39, in the Columbia, MO Metro Area's own ordering, and the 2.15x location quotient says they take well over their national share of local loans. The area itself comes 98 of 779 on the metro and micro list. The measure that stands apart is the median loan: at $182,500 it is just 0.59x the nationwide median for these restaurants, a small-ticket market by that yardstick. From FY2017 to FY2026, 36 approvals come to $9.5 million.

Sizes, programs and franchising

Half the loans lie between $133,625 and $352,675, a narrow band for a restaurant class. On program, 31 approvals are 7(a) while 504 has just 5. Franchised units make up 52.8% of loans, so just over half of the borrowers here are tied to a brand, which affects what a lender wants to see about the franchisor and the territory.

The yearly pattern and the lender

Counts are printable for five years. FY2017 had 5 loans and $1.6 million; FY2020 had no approvals and $0; FY2021 had 8 loans and $1.8 million; FY2022 had 5 loans and $554,700; FY2023 had 5 loans and $1.6 million. The remaining years are withheld because their counts are small. SBA names The Central Trust Bank as holder of 19 loans totaling $3.0 million, a big block against the area's total. This describes current holdings only.

What is withheld and why

For Columbia, cancellation and charge-off floors are both absent. Loan Analytics leaves a rate off when the loans behind it are few, so a missing figure here is not a clean sheet. Counties are not listed for this area.

Testing a drive-thru or counter concept in Columbia

A study for a quick-service unit should begin with sales per square foot at breakeven, then test whether the site's traffic and visibility can reach it. Against a median this small, a build-out priced for a national brand's standard prototype may overshoot what local loans normally carry, so cost per seat or per drive-thru lane needs a clear reason. A franchise concept adds royalty and advertising payments that come ahead of debt service, and lenders will want a coverage ratio that survives them. Because the local class is crowded, the study must show what the new unit offers that existing counters do not, and it must price labor honestly. The appraisal on a leasehold unit leans on the business rather than the building.