SBA 7(a) Restaurant Feasibility Study in Alaska

The leading class in a state that lends little

Among Alaska's SBA 7(a) asset classes, full-service restaurants take first place of 39, yet by number of loans the state is 51 among states. In other words, eateries lead a small book. SBA approved 42 loans from FY2017 to FY2026, worth $23.4 million, and a $350,000 median that is 1.42x the figure for restaurants nationwide. The middle half runs from $114,425 to $765,375. Franchises account for 11.9%, so most borrowers are independents.

Lenders and places

Northrim Bank holds 8 loans with $3.5 million, KeyBank National Association holds 7 with $2.9 million, and Alaska Growth Capital BIDCO, Inc. holds 6 with $4.8 million, a higher average than the banks. Wells Fargo Bank National Association holds 5 with $3.7 million. SBA lists the present holder only, a fact that implies nothing about the terms any of them set. Anchorage has 25 of the loans and Fairbanks North Star 5, with Kenai Peninsula at 4, Juneau and Sitka at 2, and Ketchikan Gateway, Kodiak Island, North Slope and Skagway at 1 each, so small-town and remote restaurants figure in the record.

Timing and floors

Alaska restaurant cancellations are rare: 3.0% as a floor on approvals to FY2024, and 3.0% again as the ceiling. Annual counts ran at 5 in FY2017 and FY2018, rose to 6 in FY2023, and peaked at 8 loans and $4.9 million in FY2025, while FY2026 shows 1 loan and $150,000. A loss rate for Alaska restaurants is held back: the earliest loans are too few, and withheld is not the same as zero.

What an Alaska restaurant study must test

Costs in Alaska are different from those in the lower states, and the study should say so with figures: freight on food and supplies, construction cost and utilities, and wages. Demand needs to separate resident customers from visitors, and show the seasonal swing in tourism that decides whether a restaurant can carry its payment in winter. The study should also test labour supply, including seasonal housing for staff in remote places. Revenue should be built from covers and average check, set against local competitors, and the debt payment shown under a slower season. If the loan finances the building, an appraiser must say how comparable sales are scarce, and lenders will look closely at that.