Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area

Augusta: restaurants first across a state line

From FY2017 to FY2026, 46 full-service restaurant loans, $32.1 million in total, were approved in Augusta. For full-service restaurant, Augusta comes in at 104 of 821 nationwide; at home the class places 1 of 39. Concentration is the story in Augusta, where a 1.54x location quotient lifts full-service restaurant well past its national weight. The area crosses from Georgia into South Carolina, so the Aiken County, SC loans sit under different state rules from Richmond County, GA and Columbia County, GA. The loans are placed in Richmond County, GA with 16, Columbia County, GA with 15, and Aiken County, SC with 10.

$465,000 is the median in Augusta, and the middle half sits between $206,250 and $1.2 million. Against the national class median, Augusta stands at 1.69x, so loans run larger than usual. The Augusta count is 31 for 7(a) and 15 for 504. Brand affiliation shows on 28.3% of the loans in Augusta.

Who holds the loans here

The Huntington National Bank is the only name listed in 7(a). Among 7(a) holders: 10 loans for $3.2 million at The Huntington National Bank. Augusta lenders appear as SBA records them, files only, never practices.

The FY2017 to FY2024 cohort in Augusta shows cancellations of 20.0% at the least. Augusta's ceiling, adding undisbursed loans, is also 20.0%. Loan Analytics withholds the Augusta charge-off rate; blank is not zero. Year by year, the printed approvals are FY2017 (6 loans, $4.4 million), FY2019 (10 loans, $5.0 million), FY2021 (5 loans, $5.3 million), and FY2022 (7 loans, $5.9 million). Thin counts hide the missing years. Every Augusta count passes through a county match, so tallies may fall short.

What Augusta borrowers and lenders should test

The state line matters: a site in Aiken County answers to South Carolina licensing, tax and permitting, while sites in Richmond County and Columbia County answer to Georgia, so the study must say which jurisdiction it assumes. Demand should be built from households near the site and from the competing rooms along the main corridors. A median of $465,000 funds a significant build-out, so cost per seat, hood systems and the condition of any existing shell need a line-by-line budget. Approvals here have failed often, so closing should rest on a firm lease or purchase contract. Valuation separates real property from going-concern value and weighs the lease alternative.