Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Urban Honolulu, HI Metro Area

An island metro with one county

The Urban Honolulu area has one county, Honolulu County, and every one of its 59 limited-service restaurant loans sits there. SBA approved them between FY2017 and FY2026 for $21.0 million. The class ranks second of the area's 39 and the location quotient of 1.48x puts quick service well above its national share. Nationally the area is 57 of 779.

A low national ratio

The midpoint of $100,000 stands at only 0.32x the class median nationwide, a low ratio. Loans in the central band run from $40,000 to $427,000, an upper edge above four times the midpoint. The data does not show what the loans paid for. Franchise share is 20.3%, so locally owned concepts lead.

Central Pacific Bank

Central Pacific Bank is listed on 28 loans worth $1.7 million, nearly half of the cell's count and a sign of how concentrated the holder list is. Its average loan is small, well below the $100,000 midpoint. SBA's holder field gives the current holder only. No program counts are printed in this cell, so no 7(a) versus 504 split should be assumed, and the class code is for limited-service restaurants generally, with no way to isolate any single concept.

Years and absent rates

FY2018 shows 6 loans and $732,000, FY2020 6 and $3.7 million, FY2022 5 and $530,000, and FY2024 5 and $3.0 million. Other years are withheld, and so are the two loss rates; a withheld figure is neither zero nor estimated, and no reading of this page should turn it into one. This cell prints no loss history.

A study for Honolulu

A study should test what an island location does to costs: shipping of food and equipment, wages, rent in a dense market, and the length of permitting. It should test foot traffic against resident demand and the strength of competing brands. Because tickets are modest, the study must be precise about what the money buys. Lease terms matter, as many sites are leasehold, and the appraisal should say whether any value rests on the land or only on the operating business. Payments must be covered at sales below plan.