Full-service restaurants are the leading class in the Richmond area, 1 of 39, but the area's 72 of 821 rank for the class among metro and micro areas and a location quotient of 0.84x say the concentration is lighter than the national share. The FY2017 to FY2026 record is 72 approvals for $24.9 million. The median loan is $274,150, which equals the national median at 1.00x, and the middle half of loans reaches from $100,000 up to $492,500.

City and suburban counties

Richmond city accounts for 27 loans, Chesterfield County for 24 and Henrico County for 13, so a good share of the record sits in the suburban counties rather than in the city. A study should treat the city and each county as its own trade area. The franchise share of loans is 11.1%, which means the great majority are independents. Under 7(a) there are 62 loans and under 504 there are 10.

Lenders and yearly volume

Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company holds 8 loans totaling $1.3 million. TowneBank holds 6 loans worth $2.4 million, the largest average of the group. Primis Bank holds 6 loans worth $467,600, Locus Bank Inc holds 5 worth $928,000 and Newtek Bank, National Association has 5 worth $575,000. The year with the most activity was FY2018, with 15 loans and $4.1 million, following 12 loans and $2.7 million in FY2017. FY2024 brought 11 loans for $4.5 million, and FY2025 7 loans for $3.0 million, with FY2026 at 5 loans and $1.6 million.

Floors, withheld values and the study

Of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, at least 10.0% ended in cancellation, a figure that stays put when undisbursed loans are added in. No charge-off rate appears, nor do the FY2020 and FY2022 rows; Loan Analytics withholds them, and nothing here estimates them. Project counties place each loan in the area using the July 2023 definitions. A feasibility study for a Richmond restaurant should test the trade area in the city and in each suburban county separately, price the build-out against the median above, run debt service on a sales ramp with realistic labor, and separate the operating business from the property. The record is no substitute for proving the concept.

SBA full-service restaurant loans in the Richmond, VA Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	72
Gross dollars approved	$24.9 million
Median loan	$274,150
Middle half of loans, from	$100,000
Middle half of loans, to	$492,500
SBA 7(a) loans	62
SBA 504 loans	10
Franchise share of loans	11.1%
Rank among metro and micro areas for full-service restaurant loans	72 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)	0.84x
Median loan against the national median for the class	1.00x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	10.0%
The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling)	10.0%
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 Richmond, VA Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	12	$2.7 million
FY2018	15	$4.1 million
FY2019	6	$2.2 million
FY2020	withheld	withheld
FY2021	5	$1.7 million
FY2022	withheld	withheld
FY2023	5	$2.0 million
FY2024	11	$4.5 million
FY2025	7	$3.0 million
FY2026	5	$1.6 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	8	$1.3 million
TowneBank	6	$2.4 million
Primis Bank	6	$467,600
Locus Bank Inc	5	$928,000
Newtek Bank, National Association	5	$575,000

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
Richmond city, VA	27
Chesterfield County, VA	24
Henrico County, VA	13

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-40060-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 Richmond, VA 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 Richmond, VA Metro Area