Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area

Des Moines: counter service near the top

Quick service restaurants rank second locally in Des Moines-West Des Moines, 2 of 39, and 59 of 779 nationally, with a location quotient of 1.23x. The record carries 57 loans and $37.3 million from FY2017 to FY2026, a file that is modest beside the larger restaurant metros, yet one that shows a Midwestern capital area leaning on counter service to a degree its national rank, 59 of 779, would not predict. A $309,000 median equals 0.99x of the national figure, so Iowa operators borrow what operators nationally borrow, and central loans run from $150,000 to $765,000, a relatively wide band.

In Iowa's capital area the program tally reads 49 for 7(a), 8 for 504, and franchise flags cover 59.6%, so a branded system sits behind most of the lending. Northwest Bank (IA) alone has enough loans for a listing, 6 of them worth $4.0 million, an SBA holder entry that judges nothing about the bank. Polk County, IA holds 46 of the loans, so the metro is mostly one county.

Loss floors and yearly approvals

Des Moines cancellation floors at 16.3% across FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, while the undisbursed-inclusive ceiling also reads 16.3%. Its charge-off rate is held back, which does not make it zero. The years that print are FY2019 (11 loans, $3.6 million), FY2020 (7, $7.6 million), FY2021 (5, $4.3 million), FY2022 (8, $5.8 million), FY2023 (6, $3.7 million) and FY2024 (5, $1.2 million). FY2020 had fewer loans than FY2019 but more dollars, evidence of a few large tickets.

Other years are held back. A project county must fall inside the July 2023 delineation for its loan to count toward the metro.

What a Des Moines quick service study must settle

A study tests traffic and daypart demand at the exact site, counts competing brands in range, and weighs the franchisor's requirements against local conditions, including how close another unit of the same brand may sit. Build-out is checked against the $309,000 midpoint and sales less royalties and costs must support debt service coverage. The appraiser values the going restaurant with its lease. For Des Moines, Loan Analytics issues the finished work under Daniel Smith, MAI, and lenders decide approvals for themselves.