SBA 504 Restaurant Feasibility Study in Alabama
What SBA's own loan files show about SBA 504 lending to full-service restaurant projects in Alabama, and what a feasibility study for an SBA 504 loan there has to test.
What Alabama adds to the national full-service restaurant picture
Set beside the country, Alabama contributes 31 SBA 504 loans for full-service restaurant projects, $25.4 million overall, FY2017 to FY2026. In Alabama the class stands 2 of 39, and Alabama itself ranks 30 among states for full-service restaurant. The $807,000 median is 1.33x of the full-service restaurant median nationwide under SBA 504, so Alabama sits above what full-service restaurant tickets show elsewhere. In Alabama, half of full-service restaurant loans fall from $379,000 to $1.1 million, and franchising marks 32.3% of Alabama full-service restaurant loans.
The full-service restaurant holder table and map for Alabama
Southern Development Council tops the Alabama full-service restaurant holder list on 10 loans and $6.1 million; Florida Business Development Corporation (8 loans, $8.3 million) is second in Alabama; Birmingham Citywide Local Development Company (8 loans, $7.6 million) is third. Alabama names follow SBA's current-holder field. Jefferson County, 5 loans, Lee County, 3 loans, Madison County, 3 loans, Marshall County, 3 loans and Chambers County, 2 loans: those are the leading Alabama full-service restaurant places.
Year-by-year volume in Alabama
The Alabama full-service restaurant record opens at 7 loans and $4.4 million in FY2017, peaks at 7 loans ($4.4 million) in FY2017, and Alabama closes the series at 5 loans and $4.1 million in FY2026. FY2018 show no Alabama full-service restaurant approvals.
Floors for full-service restaurant lenders to read
The Alabama full-service restaurant cancellation rate is held back: full-service restaurant approvals are too few, so this Alabama page offers no full-service restaurant figure for it. For Alabama full-service restaurant loans, no Alabama charge-off rate is shown for full-service restaurant funded FY2017 to FY2021: the Alabama cohort is under the threshold, and for full-service restaurant that is not zero.
Alabama dining rooms under SBA 504
A restaurant building financed under SBA 504 is a long commitment, so the Alabama study needs to prove the site: trade area, visibility, parking, competing concepts and sales per seat. Labour, food cost and pricing belong in an operating model tested against the $807,000 median investment. Coverage has to survive a slow first year and one lost anchor tenant nearby, and the appraiser will check how another operator could use the space.
Full-service dining in Alabama
Nothing in the code muddies full-service restaurants, though the loss figures for Alabama are withheld.
SBA 504 full-service restaurant loans in Alabama
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 31 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $25.4 million |
| Median loan | $807,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $379,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $1.1 million |
| Franchise share of loans | 32.3% |
| Rank among states for SBA 504 full-service restaurant loans, by number of loans | 30 |
| Rank of full-service restaurant among classes in Alabama | 2 of 39 |
| Median loan against the national SBA 504 median for the class | 1.33x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort |
|---|---|
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort |
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 504 full-service restaurant loans approved in Alabama, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 7 | $4.4 million |
| FY2018 | 0 | $0 |
| FY2019 | 2 | $2.7 million |
| FY2020 | 1 | $1.2 million |
| FY2021 | 3 | $2.1 million |
| FY2022 | 5 | $4.7 million |
| FY2023 | 4 | $2.4 million |
| FY2024 | 1 | $532,000 |
| FY2025 | 3 | $3.2 million |
| FY2026 | 5 | $4.1 million |
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Development Council | 10 | $6.1 million |
| Florida Business Development Corporation | 8 | $8.3 million |
| Birmingham Citywide Local Development Company | 8 | $7.6 million |
Where the loans are, by county
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| JEFFERSON | 5 |
| LEE | 3 |
| MADISON | 3 |
| MARSHALL | 3 |
| CHAMBERS | 2 |
| ETOWAH | 2 |
| MOBILE | 2 |
| MONTGOMERY | 2 |
| BARBOUR | 1 |
| BUTLER | 1 |
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 SAP-AL-C34-504.
Related feasibility study pages
- Feasibility study data and consultants for Alabama
- Feasibility studies for full-service restaurant projects
- Restaurant Feasibility Study in Alabama
- SBA 504 Restaurant Feasibility Study
- SBA 7(a) Restaurant Feasibility Study in Alabama
- SBA feasibility study company
- SBA 504 Restaurant Feasibility Study in California
- SBA 504 Restaurant Feasibility Study in Florida
- SBA 504 Restaurant Feasibility Study in Massachusetts
- SBA 504 Restaurant Feasibility Study in Illinois
- SBA 504 Restaurant Feasibility Study in Minnesota
- SBA 504 Restaurant Feasibility Study in Texas
- SBA 504 Hotel Feasibility Study in Alabama
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