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

Limited-service restaurants hold second place in Ohio's asset classes, 2 of 39, and Ohio stands at rank 5 on the 7(a) national ladder for the class. The record holds 917 loans worth $306.4 million over FY2017 to FY2026. At $175,000 the median is 0.59x the 7(a) national reading, which is the distinctive metric here, with the middle half at $50,000 to $430,000. Brand-affiliated units account for 50.8% of loans, a near-even split between franchised and independent units.

Lenders and places

The Huntington National Bank holds 431 loans and $107.3 million, and next in the table come KeyBank National Association with 51 for $15.4 million, First Commonwealth Bank with 36 for $13.4 million, Telhio Credit Union Inc with 24 for $5.5 million, and Fifth Third Bank with 23 for $9.1 million. SBA reports current holders, so none of this speaks to lender policy. Franklin County has 126 loans and Cuyahoga 120, with Hamilton at 79, Butler 41 and Summit 40.

The approval curve and the floors

Approvals dipped to 69 loans and $20.7 million in FY2020, peaked at 122 loans and $35.7 million in FY2024, and stood at 101 loans and $36.6 million in FY2025. FY2026, a complete fiscal year, closed at 65 loans and $31.6 million. Of the FY2017 to FY2024 approvals in Ohio, 10.7% or more never funded, and 14.2% on the wider count. Ohio's disbursed FY2017 to FY2021 cohort holds 375 loans, of which 4.5% at the least are charged off and 2.9% failed within five years. All are lower bounds, because open loans may yet fail.

Testing a counter-service concept in Ohio

A study for a drive-through or counter-service unit has to examine the corridor: traffic counts, adjacent anchors, competing brands, and the cost of the lot or lease. With half the borrowers franchised, it should weigh franchise requirements against the independent route and say who bears remodel duties. The small median invites hard scrutiny of build-out cost, since a note that size leaves no room for overruns. Debt service coverage should hold at sales well under plan, and an appraisal should consider what the property would fetch from another restaurant user. Program limits belong to SBA and are not listed here.