SBA 7(a) Coffee Shop Feasibility Study in Oregon

The smallest cafe loans in the series

Borrowing in Oregon's coffee and snack trade is very light. The 7(a) record counts 110 loans for FY2017 to FY2026 and $20.2 million in gross dollars, yet the median loan is just $50,000, a mere 0.22x of what the class borrows across the country, and that ratio is the first thing the cell shows that Oregon as a whole does not. The middle half sits between $30,150 and $248,250, at the scale of a drive-up stand, a cart-to-storefront step or a small purchase of equipment. Franchise brands account for 22.7% of loans. In the national count Oregon is 23rd, and at home the class holds 7 of 39 among financed industries.

Holders and counties

Columbia Bank holds 24 loans, U.S. Bank, National Association 18, and Banner Bank and KeyBank National Association 11 each, all of them present holders as SBA reports them. Multnomah County has 25 loans and Washington County 21, then Lane with 10 and Clackamas and Jackson with 8 each, so the Portland area leads but the coast and the Rogue valley both show up, with Clatsop at 6 and Lincoln at 5. Annual counts held between 6 and 14, with 13 in FY2024 worth just $470,200, a reminder of how small the average ticket is.

Outcomes so far

For Oregon cafe loans approved in FY2017 to FY2024, cancellation was 8.0% at minimum, with an identical ceiling. 56 Oregon cafe loans make up the seasoned cohort (FY2017 to FY2021 funding), and SBA's charge-off floor for them reads 0.00% overall and 0.00% on the five-year view. Both are floors for loans that may still be open, and 56 loans is a modest base. Nothing in the industry coding is flagged for Oregon cafes.

What an Oregon cafe study has to prove

With loans this small, many Oregon cafes start as leased spaces with used equipment, and the study should therefore be strict about the owner's own contribution and working capital, since small loans leave little cushion. Foot traffic and drive-by counts have to be tied to the actual block, and the rainy-season trade should be modeled alongside the summer. Competing independents and chains in the same neighborhood decide pricing power. Payroll should be shown as a share of expected sales, with the local wage level stated. Coverage of a small payment is easy to show on paper, so the more useful test is how many slow weeks the business can absorb. Because a leasehold gives little collateral value, an appraisal rarely adds support, and the case rests on cash flow.