SBA 7(a) Coffee Shop Feasibility Study in Colorado

Colorado coffee: ordinary tickets, rough outcomes

Coffee and snack businesses in Colorado borrow at a $250,000 median, 1.11x the national 7(a) figure for the class, and the usual loan falls from $100,000 to $442,500. The program approved 195 loans from FY2017 to FY2026, worth $70.0 million, giving the state a rank of 13 among states and the class 9 of 39 within Colorado. Franchise brands account for 47.2%. Colorado cafes do not separate from both parent records on any measure, so the page is mainly a record of local lending and outcomes.

What the outcome floors say

At least 13.0% of approvals through FY2024 were cancelled, or 15.1% when the never-disbursed are added. For the 70 loans in that funded cohort, charge-offs stand at 8.6% so far and 7.1% inside five years of approval, meaning most charge-offs came early. Both are minimums. Volume was 26 in FY2019, only 8 in FY2020 and 9 loans worth $1.5 million in FY2022, then 28 in FY2023, 27 in FY2024 and 31 loans in FY2025, a sharp rebuild after the pandemic.

Holders and places

The Huntington National Bank has 17 loans and $7.3 million, then Zions Bancorporation, National Association has 16 and $2.7 million, Newtek Bank, National Association 13 worth $4.2 million, First National Bank of Omaha 10 worth $2.4 million and U.S. Bank, National Association 8 worth just $209,500. The ordering describes SBA's present-holder entries, not the standards of any bank. Denver and El Paso counties each have 35 loans, Arapahoe 19, Jefferson 18 and Larimer 16, so Colorado Springs is as active as the capital.

The test for a Colorado cafe

A cafe study has to demonstrate foot traffic by daypart: commuters, students, tourists on mountain routes, and remote workers. It should count rivals and the drive-through chains nearby, model sales per labour hour under Colorado wage rules, and check how altitude and seasonal visitor swings change volume in resort towns. Franchise fees and required equipment enter the budget for branded units; independents must show how they will build a following. The cancellation and charge-off floors point to a tight margin, so debt service coverage should hold with slow sales, and the lease must allow enough time to recover the build-out.