Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Fort Wayne, IN Metro Area

Fort Wayne: a franchise-led counter market

Fort Wayne puts quick service second among its classes, 2 of 39, and franchised units account for 64.1% of the 39 loans. The loans total $21.0 million across FY2017 to FY2026, the location quotient of 1.29x says the class weighs more here than nationally, and the metro comes in at 89 of 779 for limited-service restaurant lending. The median of $410,800 works out to 1.32x the nation's, a premium that together with the franchise share defines the cell.

Lenders and amounts

Loan amounts in the central half run from $190,600 to $605,500. The program split is withheld. The State Bank and Trust Company is logged with 11 7(a) loans worth $5.5 million, and The Huntington National Bank is next with 5 worth $1.8 million; a further holder with 6 loans worth $2.3 million also appears in SBA's file. These are SBA's current-holder records. County counts are not printed for this cell.

Fort Wayne shows an empty year: FY2018 has 0 loans and $0. Printed years: 8 loans in FY2021 ($4.6 million), 5 in FY2022 ($5.9 million), 7 in FY2023 ($2.7 million) and 7 in FY2024 ($3.2 million). FY2017, FY2019, FY2020, FY2025 and FY2026 are withheld, which is a different thing from empty. The two outcome rates are also withheld, so neither a floor nor a ceiling can be read here.

Reading a franchise-led record

With franchised units making up 64.1% of the loans, most precedent in this metro comes with system data behind it: required build-out, royalty terms and sales at similar units. A study for a franchise unit should bring that data. A study for an independent has no such help, and should compensate with local traffic counts, competing counters and the owner's own record. Either way the site's visibility, drive-through flow and labor supply need testing against a median near $410,800.

Debt service has to be covered through a slow opening and through the months when sales dip. An appraisal will be set against the forecast, and each assumption needs a source behind it. Nothing printed here forecasts an outcome or promises approval. The thin year-by-year record also means that a plan cannot lean on local trend: it should present recent openings and closures of counter-service units in the trade area, the labor market for hourly staff, and how the unit would respond if a nearby competitor cut prices.