Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about limited-service restaurant lending in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Seattle: quick-service restaurant
440 quick-service restaurant loans, worth $174.4 million, were approved in Seattle, FY2017 to FY2026. Among metro areas Seattle stands 8 of 779 on 440 loans, and in Seattle the class stands 2 of 39. Seattle's quotient of 1.37x makes the class far more common. $265,500 tracks Seattle's parents; ranks and the 1.37x quotient do the distinguishing.
$265,500 in Seattle runs below the national median (0.85x) across 440 loans. Half the loans in Seattle fall between $158,750 and $467,475. Seattle withholds its program split, not zero. Franchisees hold 20.7% of Seattle's 440 loans.
Seattle's 7(a) table, 55 loans with Hanmi Bank, $18.4 million; 28 with GBC International Bank, $11.0 million; 27 with KeyBank National Association, $12.7 million; 25 with Bank of Hope, $6.7 million; 25 with UniBank, $6.5 million. Seattle: holders under 5 loans stay unnamed. Seattle by county, 440 loans: King County, WA 262; Pierce County, WA 89; Snohomish County, WA 89.
How Seattle loans fared
Of Seattle's FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, at least 7.2% were cancelled after approval; 8.6% if undisbursed loans count. Of 189 loans disbursed from FY2017 to FY2021, 4.8% or more are charged off. In Seattle, five-year charge-offs: withheld, not zero. Seattle open loans can still raise floors. Seattle's yearly count peaked at 59 loans and $17.2 million in FY2018; its low was 30 in FY2021; FY2026 shows 41 loans and $17.8 million. By year, Seattle counts: FY2017 41, FY2018 59, FY2019 35, FY2020 37, FY2021 30, FY2022 41, FY2023 58, FY2024 46, FY2025 52, FY2026 41. Gross dollars by year: FY2017 $9.9 million, FY2018 $17.2 million, FY2019 $9.1 million, FY2020 $18.7 million, FY2021 $11.4 million, FY2022 $26.1 million, FY2023 $19.8 million, FY2024 $21.1 million, FY2025 $23.3 million, FY2026 $17.8 million.
Seattle: what a study must test
Across 440 loans, drive through volume in Seattle carries $265,500. Seattle: facing slow starts, debt service holds with $174.4 million approved. For 440 loans in Seattle, kitchen costs outside $158,750 to $467,475 need cases. For 440 approvals in Seattle, appraisers split business from building. Seattle approvals ran from 30 in FY2021 to 59 in FY2018; for Seattle, plan for slow starts. Seattle's quotient, 1.37x: count rivals by drive time.
Seattle placed 440 loans by project county. Seattle uses the July 2023 delineation by name. Seattle omits loans from unmatched counties. These 440 loans guide a view of Seattle; they are no census.
SBA limited-service restaurant loans in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 440 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $174.4 million |
| Median loan | $265,500 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $158,750 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $467,475 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | withheld |
| SBA 504 loans | withheld |
| Franchise share of loans | 20.7% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas for limited-service restaurant loans | 8 of 779 |
| Rank of limited-service restaurant among the classes in this area | 2 of 39 |
| Location quotient (share of loans against the national share) | 1.37x |
| Median loan against the national median for the class | 0.85x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 7.2% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 8.6% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 4.8% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 189 |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA limited-service restaurant loans approved in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 41 | $9.9 million |
| FY2018 | 59 | $17.2 million |
| FY2019 | 35 | $9.1 million |
| FY2020 | 37 | $18.7 million |
| FY2021 | 30 | $11.4 million |
| FY2022 | 41 | $26.1 million |
| FY2023 | 58 | $19.8 million |
| FY2024 | 46 | $21.1 million |
| FY2025 | 52 | $23.3 million |
| FY2026 | 41 | $17.8 million |
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Hanmi Bank | 55 | $18.4 million |
| GBC International Bank | 28 | $11.0 million |
| KeyBank National Association | 27 | $12.7 million |
| Bank of Hope | 25 | $6.7 million |
| UniBank | 25 | $6.5 million |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
Where the loans are, by county
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| King County, WA | 262 |
| Pierce County, WA | 89 |
| Snohomish County, WA | 89 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MA-42660-C35.
Related feasibility study pages
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- Feasibility Study Data for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area
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- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
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