Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Ann Arbor, MI Metro Area

Ann Arbor: restaurants first, in a single-county record

Between FY2017 and FY2026, Ann Arbor borrowers received 41 SBA-approved full-service restaurant loans worth $20.0 million. Two standings frame Ann Arbor: 117 of 821 nationally for full-service restaurant, and 1 of 39 among the classes at home. The location quotient of 1.17x lifts full-service restaurant somewhat above its national weight in Ann Arbor. Project county: Washtenaw County, MI, 41 loans.

Half of Ann Arbor's loans land between $50,000 and $493,000, around $200,000 at the median. Against the national class median, Ann Arbor stands at 0.73x, so loans run smaller than usual. Program counts for Ann Arbor are withheld; neither program is absent. 17.1% of Ann Arbor borrowers operate under a franchise.

The one bank on the page

The Huntington National Bank is the single named holder, with a count that is a large part of the whole file. Under 7(a), SBA lists 18 loans for $4.1 million at The Huntington National Bank. What follows for Ann Arbor is a ledger of holdings, files only, never practices.

Loan Analytics withholds the cancellation and loss rates for Ann Arbor, so silence says nothing. FY2017 (9 loans, $2.5 million) and FY2023 (7 loans, $4.5 million) appear in the yearly record. For Ann Arbor, omitted years rest on thin counts. A county match sits behind each Ann Arbor figure, hence counts can run short.

Ann Arbor: what the study must test

The study should model covers by month and test cash through the weaker months. Local evidence on menu price, food cost and labor per cover matters, and competing rooms in Washtenaw County provide the benchmark. With a median of $200,000, equipment and build-out must fit a lean budget, and the owner's equity should be stated. Payment capacity needs to survive a soft first year. Half of Ann Arbor's loans land between $50,000 and $493,000, so coverage should be tested at both edges, and The Huntington National Bank's 18 loans are the only holder line to compare against. Property value and business value should be reported as separate lines, with the comparable sales explained. The study should also show what sets the concept apart from the independent rooms already open in Washtenaw County, and how repeat visits will be earned once the opening novelty fades.