SBA 7(a) Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in Nebraska

A leading class with a clean loss record

Nebraska's SBA 7(a) lending puts limited-service restaurants second among its classes, 2 of 39, at 94 loans and $59.1 million gross, even though the state sits only 38th among states for the pairing. A median of $347,500 is 1.17x the national one, and half of Nebraska's loans fall from $105,625 to $715,000. Brands sit behind 56.4% of loans. The class ranks 2 of 39 inside Nebraska while the state is 38th among states for it, so the class matters more to Nebraska than Nebraska does to the class nationally. Across 45 funded loans the charge-off floor reads 0.00% for today and 0.00% for the five-year mark.

First State Bank Nebraska holds 19 loans, more than double the 8 held by Union Bank and Trust Company and the 7 by Midwest Bank. SBA reports the current holder, so the table says where the paper sits and says nothing more. Douglas County, which contains Omaha, has 29 loans, Lancaster 15, Buffalo 10, Sarpy 7 and Gage 6, with Hall at 5. Douglas County alone has 29 of the 94 loans. Volume peaked at 14 loans in FY2021, and a single year, FY2018, carried $12.3 million.

Floors worth stating carefully

Roughly 12.7% is the cancellation floor, and the ceiling is equal, which means no approval from FY2017 to FY2024 was still waiting to fund. The zero charge-off floor is drawn from loans that can still fail, and it may rise as the cohort ages; it proves nothing about future losses.

What a Nebraska quick-service study must prove

The study should test the specific site: traffic counts, drive-through capacity, visibility and the draw of neighboring anchors. It should lay out a sales ramp against food, labor and franchise charges, plus a weaker-sales case. Equipment and build-out belong against a ticket above the national median: a median of $347,500 sits at 1.17x the national figure, so the cost plan should say what the larger ticket buys. Debt service coverage should reflect seasonal swings in sales. Where a franchisor requires remodels, the model should carry them, with their timing and cost stated up front. An appraiser will rest on earnings the unit can document. The study should also say whether the owner has run a unit before.