Wilmington: quick-service restaurant lending

In Wilmington, during FY2017 to FY2026, SBA approved 33 quick-service restaurant loans, carrying $16.4 million in gross approvals. Within Wilmington, quick-service restaurant lending is placed 2 of 39 in the ranking of classes, while Wilmington sits at 105 of 779 among metro and micro areas ranked by quick-service restaurant loans. At 1.19x, Wilmington's location quotient puts quick-service restaurant above the nation. The median loan in Wilmington comes to $350,000. The inner half of Wilmington loans stretches from $200,000 to $532,000, and the median stands at a ratio of 1.13x to the class median nationally. Franchising is the majority of this record, at 57.6% of loans, and both ratios tilt modestly above the national book: a location quotient of 1.19x and a median ratio of 1.13x. Second in the local class table (2 of 39), the category is anchored in New Hanover County, which holds 24 of the loans.

Wilmington shows no program counts; Loan Analytics withholds both the 7(a) number and the 504 number, each being a very small group. Franchise-affiliated units make up 57.6% of the Wilmington loans. Among the Wilmington holders Truist Bank, as current holder, carries $1.8 million across 5 SBA 7(a) loans, and The Huntington National Bank, as current holder, carries $1.1 million across 5 SBA 7(a) loans. Wilmington's holder lines list present holders only. Wilmington borrowers learn nothing of bank credit policy here. By county: New Hanover County, NC has 24 loans.

Wilmington: years, floors and limits

In Wilmington, a few years can be read: FY2017 records 7 loans worth $3.6 million; FY2019 has 5 loans valued at $1.8 million; FY2022 has 5 loans totalling $2.4 million; FY2023 has 5 loans totalling $2.0 million. Wilmington's withheld years are: FY2018, FY2020, FY2021 and FY2024 to FY2026. Those Wilmington years differ from none. The Wilmington cancellation rate: withheld, fewer than 30 loans. Wilmington's charge-off rate: suppressed, short of 30 loans in all. Wilmington's floor is ours, not SBA's. Wilmington's FY2017 to FY2021 cohort is short. The 2023 July list defines Wilmington. Wilmington admits a loan only by its county. Wilmington leaves out unmatched loans.

Wilmington: what to test

A Wilmington quick-service study should work from the franchise question first: if the project joins a brand, the study should set out the brand's required build-out and what it leaves for working capital; if independent, it must justify the sales without a system behind it. Either route needs corner sales that clear the instalments on a loan near $350,000, with the count of passing traffic shown. The appraisal looks to business income as well as to the building.

SBA limited-service restaurant loans in the Wilmington, NC Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	33
Gross dollars approved	$16.4 million
Median loan	$350,000
Middle half of loans, from	$200,000
Middle half of loans, to	$532,000
SBA 7(a) loans	withheld
SBA 504 loans	withheld
Franchise share of loans	57.6%
Rank among metro and micro areas for limited-service restaurant loans	105 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)	1.19x
Median loan against the national median for the class	1.13x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	withheld
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)	withheld

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 Wilmington, NC Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	7	$3.6 million
FY2018	withheld	withheld
FY2019	5	$1.8 million
FY2020	withheld	withheld
FY2021	withheld	withheld
FY2022	5	$2.4 million
FY2023	5	$2.0 million
FY2024	withheld	withheld
FY2025	withheld	withheld
FY2026	withheld	withheld

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Truist Bank	5	$1.8 million
The Huntington National Bank	5	$1.1 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
New Hanover County, NC	24

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-48900-C35.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a limited-service restaurant project in the Wilmington, NC Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.

Daniel Smith, MAI

Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Wilmington, NC Metro Area