SBA 504 Restaurant Feasibility Study in Oregon

Portland's county and the class that ranks third

Restaurants hold third place among Oregon asset types for SBA 504, and Multnomah County carries 15 of the 30 loans approved from FY2017 to FY2026, far ahead of Deschutes with 4 and a thin tail of smaller counts beyond them. Together the loans total $18.2 million. Oregon is 32 among states for the class under 504. Franchise brands account for 10.0%, so most borrowers are independent restaurants.

Three corporations and a typical loan

The development corporations in the table are Evergreen Business Capital with 9 loans and $6.4 million, Cascade Capital Funding with 7 and $4.9 million, and Northwest Business Development Association with 6 and $2.5 million. The median loan of $561,000 is 0.93x against 504 restaurants elsewhere, with the central half from $411,500 to $782,000, a fairly tight band. Annual counts were low in FY2020, with 1 loan and $406,000, and highest in FY2025 at 5 loans and $3.5 million, with 4 loans and $3.0 million in FY2026, which is again a sizeable year and not a decline. Because the county list is so concentrated, a borrower outside Los Angeles has few local precedents to cite, and the plan should say so openly.

Outcomes not reported

Oregon's early groups are too thin to support a cancellation figure or a charge-off figure, so neither appears, and neither should be read as a zero. For restaurants a missing loss figure is especially worth noting, since the sector has a reputation for failure that this file cannot confirm or refute for the cell.

What an Oregon 504 restaurant study tests

With independent operators in the majority, no franchisor sales table can stand in, so revenue has to be built from the concept: seats, turns, check average and hours, set against the competing restaurants in the neighborhood. Under 504 the building and equipment are the financed assets, so the study should present the property, with its zoning, parking, permits and construction bids. Oregon's labor costs and minimum wage rules affect margin, so payroll should be built from the staffing plan rather than a percentage. The study should show seasonal variation, especially in Deschutes and coastal markets where tourism swings sales, and the cushion held for slow months. Because the program ties debt to real estate, the appraisal will ask what rent another restaurant tenant could pay, and the study should supply comparable restaurant rents. A project priced well above the $561,000 median must explain its premium.