Restaurant Feasibility Study in Nebraska

Omaha and Lincoln carry Nebraska's restaurant book

Douglas County holds 70 of Nebraska's 149 SBA full-service restaurant approvals from FY2017 to FY2026, Lancaster 27 and Sarpy 12, so the Omaha and Lincoln areas account for most of this record. Restaurants are Nebraska's busiest SBA class, ranking 1 of 39, though the location quotient of 0.83x keeps them below their national weight and the state ranks 41 of 54 for the class. Approvals total $55.2 million. The Nebraska median of $159,000 is 0.58x the national full-service median, with quartiles at $76,000 and $405,000. Since that low median does not trip our screen, Nebraska's SBA lending as a whole appears to run small too; no gauge here is flagged as distinctive.

Union Bank and Trust Company and First National Bank of Omaha each hold 15 Nebraska restaurant loans, worth $2.7 million and $2.5 million, First Interstate Bank holds 9, and U.S. Bank, National Association 8 totalling only $281,000. Dundee Bank's 6 come to $4.4 million, the largest average ticket among the leading holders. SBA 504 financed 11 approvals against 138 under 7(a), with Nebraska Economic Development Corporation holding 8 worth $9.0 million. Franchises are 10.1% of loans, so nearly all Nebraska borrowers here run their own concepts.

A steady record

Nebraska's restaurant outcomes are moderate on both counts. Nebraska cancellations sit at 7.6% for FY2017 through FY2024 approvals, and the ceiling matches. The 75 Nebraska dining loans funded across FY2017 to FY2021 show 2.7% charged off, and because the within-five-years rate is also 2.7%, every loss came early; both are floors. Annual approvals have been steady at 11 to 20, with 20 in FY2025 the high and 11 in FY2023 and FY2026 the lows.

What a Nebraska restaurant study must test

Any Nebraska restaurant study has to test the trade area's covers, check average and daypart mix against the independent and chain restaurants already open, and in Omaha or Lincoln it has to account for how many competitors share the strongest corridors. Cost testing should price kitchen equipment, hood systems and leasehold work at current bids; on a loan near the $159,000 median, a cost overrun quickly consumes the working capital line. Debt service coverage must hold on realistic food and labor costs during the first year, before regulars build. When a building comes with the loan, value it for whichever restaurant or retailer would occupy it next. No coding caveat or shared code applies to Nebraska full-service restaurants in the data.