SBA 7(a) Coffee Shop Feasibility Study in Florida

Franchise-driven and cancellation-prone

Florida coffee shops and snack bars show two distinctive measures under SBA 7(a): a large median loan and a high cancellation floor. The $350,000 median is 1.56x the national coffee-shop figure, while the middle band of loans reaches from $150,000 to $588,300. Cancellation is at least 16.3% in the FY2017 to FY2024 cohort, and 17.2% at most. The files for FY2017 to FY2026 hold 493 loans, $231.5 million gross. Florida ranks 3 for the program and class, with coffee shops at 9 of 39 in Florida's own order. Franchise brands account for 60.6% of loans, the dominant pattern here, which helps explain why tickets are well above the national norm.

Banks and counties in Florida

Leading is The Huntington National Bank: 61 loans worth $18.6 million. Newtek Bank, National Association holds 33 worth $9.1 million, TD Bank, National Association 32 worth $2.0 million, First Federal Bank 25 worth $23.6 million and Citizens Bank 22 worth $10.4 million. The holder column reflects SBA's records and is not a statement about any bank's approach to coffee concepts. Broward County has 59 loans, Orange 48, Hillsborough 45, Miami-Dade 40, Palm Beach 34, Pinellas 29, Duval 20, Pasco 17, and Saint Johns and Seminole 16 each. Volume has risen almost without pause, from 21 loans in FY2017 to 91 in FY2026.

Losses so far

Of the 124 loans funded in FY2017 to FY2021, 7.3% stand charged off now and 4.0% were charged off by the fifth year, both minimums. The charge-off rates are not flagged as distinctive.

What a Florida coffee shop study has to test

Because most of the activity is franchised, the study should begin with the system: the franchisor's disclosed sales at similar units, the royalty and marketing commitments, required equipment, territory protection and the term of the agreement. Then the site. Drive-through or walk-up format, morning commuter flow, nearby offices and schools, and the number of competing coffee brands within a short distance all change the sales forecast. Florida seasonality, with visitors in some markets and not in others, needs to be addressed rather than assumed. Cost against a median near $350,000 should itemise build-out, equipment and opening working capital. Since one approval in six falls away before disbursement or sooner, the timeline for permits and lease signing should be realistic. The coverage ratio must hold in a slow first year with the royalty already paid.