Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR Metro Area

Small loans in San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas

San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas gives limited-service restaurants a place close to the national average: the location quotient is 1.02x, nationally the area comes in at 40 of 779 for the class, and on the island's own list of classes quick-service restaurants take third place (3 of 39). Loans sit low: a $132,000 median, 0.42x the class's national median, with the central half running only from $50,000 to $248,100. In all, SBA approved 117 loans over FY2017 to FY2026, adding up to $22.1 million. Franchised concepts make up 29.1% of loans.

What the record leaves blank

This page withholds more than it prints. The 7(a) and 504 loan counts are withheld by Loan Analytics, both loss rates, cancellation and charge-off, since too little lending supports them, along with most yearly counts. Only FY2017 (22 loans, $2.6 million), FY2021 (6, $1.1 million) and FY2024 (13, $3.1 million) are shown. None of the missing values is zero, and none can be reconstructed from what is printed. The page gives volume and size, but no loss evidence.

Municipios and lenders

San Juan Municipio supplies 43 loans, Bayamón 10, Caguas 9, Carolina 8, Guaynabo 6 and Cayey 5. Banco Popular de Puerto Rico heads the 7(a) holders, 49 loans and $6.9 million; Oriental Bank has 23 loans and $5.0 million, FirstBank Puerto Rico 16 loans and $3.7 million. Among 504 holders, COFECC (Corp. Financiamiento Empresarial del Comercio y Comunidades) has 7 loans for $2.6 million and Marketing Small Business Finance Corporation has 6 for $996,000. All of these are the holders SBA lists today, which can differ from the first holder, and the list should not be taken as a statement of anyone's practices.

Testing a San Juan-area quick-service unit

With tickets this small, a study should be specific about what the loan buys. If the concept is franchised, the franchisor's disclosure of investment and the sales of comparable units sit at the top of the cost and revenue analysis. Demand should be built from the trade area around the specific site, including pedestrian and vehicle traffic, rather than from the metro total. A study should add the cost of supplies and utilities to the margin analysis, show coverage after the franchise royalty and test a slow first year. Given the lack of loss data, a conservative case matters more than usual. Each loan reaches this page through its municipio and the July 2023 area list.