Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in Maine

Small loans from Maine's own banks

Quick service restaurants in Maine borrow small sums, and their leading lenders are Maine savings and community banks. At $154,000, Maine's median quick service loan is 0.50x what the class borrows nationally, and by count quick service stands 2 of 39 among Maine's classes. Nationally Maine sits 37 of 54, on 117 approvals worth $34.9 million between FY2017 and FY2026, and its 0.98x location quotient is close to parity. Our screen leaves the small median unflagged, since it does not also stand apart from Maine's median across every class; small tickets appear to be a feature of the state's SBA lending generally. Neither outcome floor is flagged either.

Savings banks lead

Bangor Savings Bank holds 19 of the 7(a) loans and Maine Community Bank 17, ahead of TD Bank, National Association with 10, and Norway Savings Bank and Androscoggin Savings Bank with 8 apiece. The loans are modest, with Bangor Savings Bank's 19 totalling $2.8 million. Of all approvals, 99 went through 7(a) and 18 through SBA 504. Half of Maine's quick service loans are between $55,000 and $350,000. Franchise concepts account for only 18.8% of loans, so independent takeout, seasonal and counter-service operators make up much of this book. Cumberland County leads with 60 approvals, York County has 25, and Hancock and Kennebec have 7 each. FY2024 was the busiest year with 19 loans worth $6.7 million.

Low cancellations

Few Maine approvals fell apart: at least 4.2% of the FY2017 to FY2024 quick service cohort was cancelled, 5.2% at the ceiling, below the national rate for the class. Of the 47 loans funded in FY2017 to FY2021, Maine records 4.3% charged off and a five-year reading of 0.00%; the floor is below quick service nationally.

Small loans and a strong independent share shape what a Maine study must cover. Where an operator depends on summer visitors, demand has to be tested month by month, not on an annual average: peak-season traffic, the shoulder months and the year-round resident base. Cost covers equipment, fit-out of a leased or owned building, and enough working capital to carry the slow months. The study should show debt payments met in the quietest months, not only across the year, and the owner's labour should be priced. Where the operator owns the building, an appraisal of a small restaurant property depends on its location and alternative use, and the study's sales forecast should support it.

Maine's rates are minimums from approval and disbursement cohorts, and each lender is shown as the current holder SBA reports.