Baltimore: full-service restaurant

Baltimore approved full-service restaurant loans: 243 in FY2017 to FY2026, worth $126.6 million. Baltimore ranks 28 of 821 for the class on 243 loans among metro areas; in Baltimore, the class ranks 1 of 39. Baltimore's location quotient reads 0.93x on 243 loans: a lighter concentration. In Baltimore, ranks and the 0.93x quotient, from 243 loans, distinguish the class; Baltimore size is 0.91x the national median.

$250,000 marks the median of 243 loans, below the national figure (0.91x), and $77,500 to $554,500 bounds Baltimore's middle half. Of 243 loans in Baltimore, 231 used 7(a) and 12 used 504. 9.5% is the franchise share of 243 loans; the rest are independents.

Baltimore's 7(a) table, 103 loans at Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, $21.4 million; 12 at Fulton Bank, National Association, $9.7 million; 10 at Newtek Bank, National Association, $4.1 million; 8 at Northeast Bank (ME), $1.5 million; 6 at Readycap Lending, LLC, $2.2 million. Baltimore: holders under 5 loans go unnamed. Baltimore county counts, 243 loans: Baltimore city, MD 86; Baltimore County, MD 45; Anne Arundel County, MD 43; Howard County, MD 41; Harford County, MD 21.

The Baltimore loans' fate

17.8% at minimum: Baltimore's cancelled share through FY2024. Baltimore's ceiling for undisbursed loans: withheld. Baltimore charge-offs: too few, not zero. Baltimore floors may rise with open loans. Baltimore approvals ran from 27 loans and $19.6 million in FY2017 to 36 loans and $28.3 million in FY2026, peaking at 36 in FY2026 and dipping to 7 in FY2021. Baltimore loans per year: FY2017 27, FY2018 25, FY2019 18, FY2020 15, FY2021 7, FY2022 20, FY2023 35, FY2024 27, FY2025 33, FY2026 36. Yearly dollars: FY2017 $19.6 million, FY2018 $8.5 million, FY2019 $5.4 million, FY2020 $7.1 million, FY2021 $7.3 million, FY2022 $8.9 million, FY2023 $16.1 million, FY2024 $15.3 million, FY2025 $10.1 million, FY2026 $28.3 million.

Baltimore: the study's tests

Baltimore's quotient, 0.93x: count rivals by cuisine. Across 243 loans, evening cover counts in Baltimore carries $250,000. Baltimore: facing slow months, debt service holds with $126.6 million approved. For 243 loans in Baltimore, ventilation costs outside $77,500 to $554,500 need cases. For 243 approvals in Baltimore, appraisers split concept from building. Baltimore approvals ran from 7 in FY2021 to 36 in FY2026; for Baltimore, plan for stalled years.

Baltimore's 243 loans are placed by project county. Baltimore follows the July 2023 delineation. Baltimore drops unplaceable counties from $126.6 million. Treat 243 loans as a guide to Baltimore, not a census.

SBA full-service restaurant loans in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	243
Gross dollars approved	$126.6 million
Median loan	$250,000
Middle half of loans, from	$77,500
Middle half of loans, to	$554,500
SBA 7(a) loans	231
SBA 504 loans	12
Franchise share of loans	9.5%
Rank among metro and micro areas for full-service restaurant loans	28 of 821
Rank of full-service restaurant among the classes in this area	1 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)	0.93x
Median loan against the national median for the class	0.91x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	17.8%
The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling)	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 full-service restaurant loans approved in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	27	$19.6 million
FY2018	25	$8.5 million
FY2019	18	$5.4 million
FY2020	15	$7.1 million
FY2021	7	$7.3 million
FY2022	20	$8.9 million
FY2023	35	$16.1 million
FY2024	27	$15.3 million
FY2025	33	$10.1 million
FY2026	36	$28.3 million

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company	103	$21.4 million
Fulton Bank, National Association	12	$9.7 million
Newtek Bank, National Association	10	$4.1 million
Northeast Bank (ME)	8	$1.5 million
Readycap Lending, LLC	6	$2.2 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
Baltimore city, MD	86
Baltimore County, MD	45
Anne Arundel County, MD	43
Howard County, MD	41
Harford County, MD	21

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-12580-C34.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a full-service restaurant project in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 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

Restaurant Feasibility Study in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area