SBA 7(a) Restaurant Feasibility Study in North Carolina

The top class in the state, at a high ticket

Full-service restaurants top North Carolina's list of asset classes for SBA 7(a), 1 of 39, a rare position for any restaurant concept. From FY2017 to FY2026 the program approved 639 North Carolina restaurant loans worth $438.5 million, a count that puts the state 15 among states. Size is what sets it apart: the $414,800 median is 1.69x the nationwide 7(a) figure for full-service restaurants, with the central half of tickets spanning $150,000 to $851,200. Franchise brands took 18.8% of the loans, leaving most to independents.

Outcomes in this state

In North Carolina the share of restaurant approvals cancelled is at least 10.5%, rising to 10.9% when undisbursed loans are added. Among 249 restaurant loans that funded in the early cohort, 7.2% or more have reached charge-off, with the figure for the first five years at 4.0%. Both are floors; loans still open can add to them. These numbers are heavier than a child care or dental office would show, which is the ordinary pattern for restaurants, where margin is thin and a closed kitchen is hard to repurpose.

Lenders, counties and the cycle

First National Bank of Pennsylvania holds 39 loans worth $26.8 million and The Huntington National Bank 38 worth $23.9 million, while TowneBank holds 33 loans worth $34.8 million, the largest dollar sum, with First Bank and Truist Bank level at 28 apiece. The page prints SBA's current-holder field and says nothing about practices. Wake County has 122 loans and Mecklenburg 103, with Buncombe at 45, New Hanover at 39, and Durham and Guilford at 27. Approvals fell from 80 in FY2017 to 34 in FY2021 and then rose to 91 loans and $68.8 million in FY2025, the highest on record.

The 7(a) restaurant test in North Carolina

A study for a North Carolina restaurant that seeks 7(a) money should prove the concept, not only the site: covers per day, check average, food and labour cost percentages, and a break-even that holds when the dining room is half full. It must set the Triangle and Charlotte against the coast and the mountains, where seasonal tourism swings revenue, and examine competition on the same corridor. Build-out and kitchen equipment on a loan near the median are heavy, so a contingency belongs in the budget. Lenders will look for cushion in debt service coverage and for a lease long enough to amortise improvements, and the appraisal will value the going concern.