Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Worcester, MA Metro Area

Worcester: third in class, with small loans

Worcester shows 41 limited-service restaurant loans and $7.8 million approved, FY2017 through FY2026. Worcester stands 81 of 779 areas for the class, while limited-service restaurants are third locally, 3 of 39. The location quotient of 0.60x means limited-service restaurant counts for less in Worcester than in the national mix. Worcester County, MA carries 41 of the loans.

$87,200 is the median in Worcester, and the middle half sits between $42,000 and $220,000. At 0.28x of the national class median, Worcester's median means loans run smaller than usual. Loan Analytics does not print the Worcester split between 7(a) and 504. 22.0% of the loans in Worcester belong to franchised units.

Three banks, all with small average loans

TD Bank, National Association, Cornerstone Bank (MA) and Santander Bank, National Association each show a small dollar total for their loans. The 7(a) names are 7 loans for $277,000 at TD Bank, National Association, 5 loans for $572,000 at Cornerstone Bank (MA), and 5 loans for $229,000 at Santander Bank, National Association. Holder counts for Worcester come from SBA bookkeeping, not the habits of institutions. Two of the three holders average well under the $87,200 median loan, while Cornerstone Bank (MA) averages above it.

The Worcester cohort is too thin for rates, leaving the cell unmeasured. By year: FY2019, 9 loans and $1.4 million, FY2023, 7 loans and $774,300, and FY2024, 6 loans and $2.1 million. In Worcester, thin counts hide the missing years, and FY2024's 6 loans carried the largest dollar total of the three printed years. For Worcester, membership follows project counties, hence counts can run short.

Questions for a Worcester limited-service restaurant study

With a median of $87,200, the study should list what is financed: equipment, leasehold work, inventory or a purchase of an existing unit. Daily transactions must be tied to traffic and to the stop rates of similar units, with nearby competitors and same-brand stores considered. For a franchise unit, royalty and advertising charges belong in every month's margin, and the cash plan should show the payment met in a weak opening quarter. The study should also show that the unit does not depend on a single daypart: breakfast, lunch and late-night trade can each be estimated from traffic and nearby employers, with seasonality shown month by month.