SBA 7(a) Restaurant Feasibility Study in New York

What sets New York restaurants apart under 7(a)

New York's full-service restaurants borrowed through SBA 7(a) on a scale few places match: 2,050 loans in the FY2017 to FY2026 files, $775.8 million gross all told, with the state taking second place nationally for the program and class, and restaurants first among all 39 asset classes in New York. Two measures are distinctive enough to set the cell apart from New York's overall lending and from restaurants elsewhere. The first is size: a $135,000 median, only 0.55x the nationwide 7(a) restaurant median, and a middle band of $50,000 up to $350,000. The second is cancellation: the cancellation floor is 17.1% for the FY2017 to FY2024 group, reaching 17.8% when loans still awaiting disbursement are counted, which is a high floor for a borrower to weigh.

Lenders and boroughs

Five institutions lead the book. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company holds 315 loans worth $33.0 million, TD Bank, National Association 234 loans for $29.6 million, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association 125 worth $16.7 million, NewBank 113 worth $81.6 million and KeyBank National Association 105 worth $22.0 million. NewBank's average loan is far larger than the others', a reminder that count and dollars tell different stories. SBA compiled these from loans each lender holds or held; they are not a verdict on lending standards. By county, New York leads with 382 loans, then Kings 213, Queens 202, Suffolk 158, Erie 135, Nassau 131, Monroe 100, Westchester 87, Onondaga 54 and Rockland 48. Upstate and suburban counties are therefore a real part of the market, not an afterthought. Franchise brands account for just 3.2% of the loans.

Timing and losses

Volume fell from 313 loans in FY2017 to 120 in FY2020 and 102 in FY2021, then recovered to 241 in FY2024 and 262 in FY2025. On the loss side, among the 837 loans that funded in FY2017 to FY2021, 8.4% stand charged off today, and 4.8% were charged off inside five years. Both are floors: loans still open can yet fail. The charge-off figures are not what distinguishes the cell, but they frame how much risk a lender sees in a typical file.

What a New York restaurant study has to test

Few markets are as crowded, so the study has to prove why this concept at this address will win. That means counting competing full-service restaurants within a short walk or drive, measuring foot traffic or household density for the borough or county concerned, and testing rent against realistic sales per seat. With a median near $135,000, build-out and equipment costs should be itemised, and a lease term long enough to recover them is essential. The high cancellation floor suggests that deals often fall apart between approval and closing, so the study should address lease, permits and licensing early. The coverage ratio must survive a slow opening season and climbing labor costs. In an appraisal, a restaurant is mostly business value, so goodwill and lease terms need honest treatment.