SBA 7(a) Restaurant Feasibility Study in Nevada

Full-service restaurants come first among Nevada's asset classes, 1 of 39, and Nevada places 26 on 7(a) volume for the class, a middling position for a state this size. Between FY2017 and FY2026 the program approved 272 loans worth $146.2 million. The $300,000 median is 1.22x the 7(a) restaurant median nationwide, with $100,000 to $721,250 covering the middle half. Franchises are 11.0% of loans. The sharpest feature is geography: CLARK County has 218 of the 272 loans and WASHOE 33, leaving 21 loans for the rest of the state, with CARSON CITY at 5.

Lenders and dollars per loan

U.S. Bank, National Association holds 43 loans but only $2.1 million, which implies very small notes, while Newtek Bank, National Association holds 20 worth $8.7 million, Zions Bancorporation, National Association 17 worth $9.2 million, and America First Federal Credit Union 16 worth $17.7 million, the heaviest per loan. Newtek Small Business Finance, LLC has 10 worth $4.6 million. These are SBA's holder figures, without comment on practices.

The recent surge

Volume rose late in the series: FY2025 and FY2026 each show 44 loans, with $21.1 million and $25.3 million, against 20 to 22 loans a year from FY2017 to FY2020. Nevada cancellations reached 12.5% at least of the approvals dated FY2017 through FY2024, and the wider count returns that same 12.5%. Nevada's 87 early-cohort loans (FY2017 to FY2021) show 5.7% charged off at the least, 3.4% of them inside five years. Those floors rest on a small cohort and can rise.

What a Nevada restaurant study must test

Las Vegas-area sites sell to residents, commuters and visitors in proportions that vary sharply by neighborhood, so a study must separate local trade from tourist trade and show which one the concept needs. It should examine competition including casino-based dining, labor availability and wage pressure, and lease terms in a market where rents differ widely. Because the median is above the national figure, the budget for build-out, equipment and a liquor license should be itemized, and the plan should show debt service covered in a slow quarter or a downturn in visitor numbers. Real estate, if pledged, should be appraised apart from the business. SBA, not this page, states program rules.