SBA 7(a) Coffee Shop Feasibility Study in Washington

Coffee shops and snack bars are the seventh-ranked class in Washington, 7 of 39, while Washington ranks eighth for 7(a) volume in the class. Across FY2017 to FY2026 the count was 266 loans for $72.4 million. The $167,350 median is 0.74x the 7(a) median coffee shops show across the country, and $66,300 to $324,750 spans the middle half. Franchise flags appear on 23.3% of loans, so most loans carry no franchise flag.

Charge-offs and cancellation

Washington's 89 loans that funded in the FY2017 to FY2021 cohort have 10.1% charged off at the least, and 4.5% were by the five-year point. No coffee shop metric in Washington is called distinctive. In the FY2017 to FY2024 Washington approvals, 10.7% at least dropped out before funding, and 11.2% when loans waiting to disburse are added.

Lenders, counties and years

KeyBank National Association ties with U.S. Bank, National Association at 25 loans each, with $6.5 million at KeyBank against $2.0 million at U.S. Bank. Columbia Bank has 24 worth $4.2 million, Banner Bank 22 worth $6.1 million, and Washington Trust Bank 16 worth $4.2 million. SBA lists each of these banks as the present holder. King County has 105 loans, Pierce 35, Spokane 29, Clark 23 and Snohomish 18. Volume rose from 13 loans in FY2020 to 37 in FY2025 and 42 in FY2026, and FY2026 brought $20.0 million, the highest dollar year.

What a coffee shop study must show

A study has to prove daily transaction counts, not just a pleasant concept, and it should show how many cups a day the proposed site must sell to carry the debt, using the $167,350 median loan as a reference for scale. It should measure foot and car traffic by hour, test whether a drive-through is available and permitted, and count the espresso competitors, national chains included, within reach. Rent and labor decide margin, so the plan needs a clear break-even in cups per day and an honest ticket average. With the charge-off floor this high, the loan payment should be tested on sales below plan and through a slow first season. Equipment and leasehold improvements are the typical collateral; an appraiser may assign little value to them, so the study should state recovery assumptions plainly. SBA sets program terms; none appear here.