Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area

A thin lender table behind a half-franchised market

San Jose's quick-service record is brief but telling. SBA approved 98 loans in FY2017 to FY2026, $55.5 million gross, ranking the area 44 of 779 nationally, while quick-service restaurants are 2 of 39 across San Jose classes. The location quotient is 0.95x. The franchise share of 49.0% means roughly half the loans carry the flag, and the median of $350,000 is 1.13x the national median, with quartiles at $188,125 and $653,500. The program split is 91 loans labelled 7(a) and 7 labelled 504.

Only two lenders reach the listing threshold: West Coast Community Bank, with 10 loans and $2.8 million, followed by 7 loans and $3.2 million at The Huntington National Bank. A table this short shows how diffuse the holders are. These entries are records of loans held now or earlier and tell a borrower nothing about present criteria.

Cancellations and the missing charge-off rate

At least 11.5% of approvals were cancelled, and the version adding undisbursed loans gives the same 11.5%. Loan Analytics withholds a charge-off rate for San Jose quick service, and the page offers neither an estimate nor a zero.

What a study has to prove

A study for a Santa Clara site must test the pad's traffic and visibility, the cost of space, labor cost and availability, the franchise agreement's fees if the unit is branded, with coverage measured on a $350,000 request. No rent figures exist in this record, so the study should price occupancy for the actual site and demonstrate that projected sales can cover it.

With 98 loans and only two named holders, the San Jose cell is small, and its averages deserve modest weight. The median of $350,000 and the franchise share of 49.0% are useful anchors, but a borrower should compare a request against national and state records as well, and the study should say which comparison it relies on and why.

The record carries no county breakdown for this cell, because nothing reaches the listing threshold. All 98 San Jose-area quick-service loans were placed by the county named on each loan, read against the July 2023 delineation; if the county failed to match, the loan is not counted, so 98 is a floor, and no county rows appear here.