Restaurant Feasibility Study in West Virginia
What SBA's own loan files show about full-service restaurant lending in West Virginia, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
West Virginia restaurants and one lead bank
Full-service restaurants lead West Virginia's SBA book at 1 of 39 among its asset classes, and a 1.22x location quotient shows them weighing more in West Virginia lending than nationally. In national terms the cell is small: 106 approvals worth $35.1 million from FY2017 to FY2026, ranking 44 of 54. The median of $100,000 is just 0.36x the full-service median nationally. That gap does not make the cell distinct, because our screen requires a gap against West Virginia's all-class record as well, and the outcome floors do not clear both tests either.
Small loans, one lender
The Huntington National Bank holds 48 of West Virginia's restaurant loans, worth $10.9 million, far ahead of Peoples Bank with 11 worth $1.6 million and Citizens Bank of West Virginia, Inc with 5 worth $2.8 million. Almost everything is 7(a): 103 loans against 3 under SBA 504. West Virginia approvals in the central half run from $30,000 to $365,750. Franchised units take 15.1% of loans. Monongalia County leads with 21 approvals, Hancock and Harrison have 10 each and Wood 9. Volume has thinned, from 15 loans in FY2017 to 3 worth $175,000 in FY2026.
Early losses and high cancellation
Of the 49 West Virginia restaurant loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021, 6.1% are charged off, matching the five-year rate of 6.1%, so every charge-off in that cohort came inside the first five years. Cancellation reached at least 13.8% of West Virginia approvals dated FY2017 to FY2024 and 17.0% at the ceiling. These are floors.
A feasibility study for a West Virginia restaurant has to be strongest on the first years. It must show the trade area's dining demand, from residents or travellers, against existing restaurants, and set seat turnover, check size, food and labour cost against a loan near $100,000. Debt service coverage needs to hold in year one, when the recorded losses happened, with working capital to carry a slow start. For a purchase, the study has to check the seller's sales against tax returns, and a West Virginia building included in the deal must appraise on its real estate alone.
No coding caveat is recorded for West Virginia's full-service restaurants; the figures rest on each loan's industry code.
SBA 7(a) and 504 full-service restaurant loans in West Virginia
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 106 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $35.1 million |
| Median loan | $100,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $30,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $365,750 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 103 |
| SBA 504 loans | 3 |
| Franchise share of loans | 15.1% |
| Rank among states for full-service restaurant loans | 44 of 54 |
| Rank of full-service restaurant among classes in West Virginia | 1 of 39 |
| Location quotient (share of loans against the national share) | 1.22x |
| Median loan against the national median for the class | 0.36x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 13.8% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 17.0% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 6.1% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 6.1% |
| Loans in that cohort | 49 |
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 7(a) and 504 full-service restaurant loans approved in West Virginia, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 15 | $5.1 million |
| FY2018 | 9 | $1.5 million |
| FY2019 | 11 | $8.2 million |
| FY2020 | 12 | $4.8 million |
| FY2021 | 13 | $3.6 million |
| FY2022 | 12 | $3.7 million |
| FY2023 | 12 | $4.5 million |
| FY2024 | 10 | $1.2 million |
| FY2025 | 9 | $2.5 million |
| FY2026 | 3 | $175,000 |
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| The Huntington National Bank | 48 | $10.9 million |
| Peoples Bank | 11 | $1.6 million |
| Citizens Bank of West Virginia, Inc | 5 | $2.8 million |
Where the loans are, by county
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| MONONGALIA | 21 |
| HANCOCK | 10 |
| HARRISON | 10 |
| WOOD | 9 |
| CABELL | 8 |
| MARION | 5 |
| RANDOLPH | 5 |
| PUTNAM | 4 |
| BERKELEY | 3 |
| KANAWHA | 3 |
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; Loan Analytics loan-outcome cell SA-WV-C34.
Related feasibility study pages
- West Virginia feasibility study consultant
- Full-service restaurant feasibility study company
- SBA 7(a) Restaurant Feasibility Study
- SBA 504 Restaurant Feasibility Study
- SBA feasibility study company
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