Observed lending records
Caterers: SBA lending profile
Historical financing evidence to examine alongside your operating plan.
NAICS 722320 includes caterers and banquet halls with catering staff. These broad loan records do not isolate a small off-premise operator in a licensed shared kitchen.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA files, snapshot 30 June 2026. Recomputed from original records on 1 October 2026. FY2025 is the most recent complete fiscal year in these files. Definitions and exclusions.
What stands out in this category
In the complete FY2025 snapshot cohort, 182 of 193 disbursed-status records are 7(a): 94.3%. The remaining 11 are 504 records. Read this program mix before comparing the combined median with a project budget.
At least one program-specific financial median is suppressed because fewer than 25 valid observations remain. The count is still informative; borrowing a median from the other program would create a false comparison.
FY2024 has 234 records with disbursed status in the same snapshot; FY2025 has 41 fewer. This compares approval-year cohorts at one cutoff, not disbursements made in each year or customer demand. Recent cohorts have had less time to fund.
For the narrower connected operating case: Quote the licensed kitchen and transport scope, measure recipe yield and prep time, then schedule deposits, vendor payments and paid staff by actual event date. Historical lending activity does not answer that operating question. Bring quotations, measured capacity and local demand evidence to the financing discussion.
Separate 7(a) and 504
| Program | Records | Median amount | Median term | Amount represented |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7(a) | 182 | $150,000 | 10.0 years | Total approved 7(a) loan |
| 504 | 11 | Not shown | Not shown | SBA/CDC portion only |
The combined median is a description of this mix. A 504 amount excludes the third-party loan and owner equity; it is not the property or project purchase price. The rate headline uses 182 7(a) records and describes the initial rate when approved.
How the loan amounts are distributed
| Approval amount band | Records | Share | Median amount | Median term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $150,000 | 89 | 46.1% | $50,000 | 10.0 years |
| $150,000–$349,999 | 45 | 23.3% | $201,000 | 10.0 years |
| $350,000–$699,999 | 26 | 13.5% | $430,000 | 10.0 years |
| $700,000 and above | 33 | 17.1% | $1,850,000 | 25.0 years |
A single median hides small working-capital requests and larger asset-financing transactions. Use the bands and program split before deciding whether a comparison fits your project.
Annual activity and approval status
| Approval FY | All approvals | Disbursed status | Canceled | Undisbursed / other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 255 | 224 | 31 | 0 |
| 2019 | 200 | 179 | 21 | 0 |
| 2020 | 163 | 135 | 28 | 0 |
| 2021 | 112 | 99 | 12 | 1 |
| 2022 | 163 | 136 | 22 | 5 |
| 2023 | 246 | 203 | 32 | 11 |
| 2024 | 271 | 234 | 24 | 13 |
| 2025 | 271 | 193 | 54 | 24 |
Institutions appearing in the records
Ranked by record count only, with alphabetical tie-breaking. No paid placement, referral arrangement or recommendation. Names are those assigned in the snapshot; this does not establish current lending appetite or the original institution before any transfer.
| Institution | Records | Median amount | Median term | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Huntington National Bank | 61 | $65,000 | 10.0 years | 12 |
| TD Bank, National Association | 46 | $47,000 | 10.0 years | 10 |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 45 | $41,000 | 5.0 years | 14 |
| Newtek Bank, National Association | 31 | $150,000 | 10.0 years | 19 |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 23 | Not shown | Not shown | 8 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | 20 | Not shown | Not shown | 7 |
| BayFirst National Bank | 17 | Not shown | Not shown | 10 |
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 17 | Not shown | Not shown | 11 |
| Readycap Lending, LLC | 13 | Not shown | Not shown | 8 |
| Northeast Bank | 12 | Not shown | Not shown | 9 |
| Institution | Records | Median amount | Median term | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mortgage Capital Development Corporation | 6 | Not shown | Not shown | 1 |
| California Statewide Certified Development Corporation | 4 | Not shown | Not shown | 1 |
| SomerCor 504, Inc. | 4 | Not shown | Not shown | 1 |
| Community Certified Development Corporation | 3 | Not shown | Not shown | 2 |
| Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc. | 3 | Not shown | Not shown | 1 |
| Trenton Business Assistance Corporation | 3 | Not shown | Not shown | 2 |
| Alloy Development Co., Inc. | 2 | Not shown | Not shown | 2 |
| Community Investment Corporation | 2 | Not shown | Not shown | 1 |
| Florida Business Development Corporation | 2 | Not shown | Not shown | 1 |
| St. Charles County Economic Development Council | 2 | Not shown | Not shown | 1 |
Where the lending records are located
| State | Records | Share of category | Median amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 28 | 14.5% | $158,250 |
| NY | 17 | 8.8% | Not shown |
| FL | 15 | 7.8% | Not shown |
| OH | 13 | 6.7% | Not shown |
| IL | 10 | 5.2% | Not shown |
| NJ | 9 | 4.7% | Not shown |
| TX | 9 | 4.7% | Not shown |
| MA | 7 | 3.6% | Not shown |
| PA | 7 | 3.6% | Not shown |
| WA | 7 | 3.6% | Not shown |
Small state samples retain their counts but suppress the median. High lending volume can reflect the size of a state or its financing mix; it does not by itself establish demand for another location.
Who is represented in the recent pool?
| Business-age group | Records | Share of known labels | Median amount | Median term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change of ownership | 37 | 5.9% | $659,000 | 10.0 years |
| Other reported business-age labels | 399 | 63.3% | $150,000 | 10.0 years |
| Startup or new-business labels | 194 | 30.8% | $116,500 | 10.0 years |
The startup/new-business group combines startup and new-business labels, including businesses up to two years old. It is not a pure count of unopened businesses. Change-of-ownership records have different risks and evidence from a greenfield startup.
Historical charge-offs: inspect the denominator
121 disbursed records have EXEMPT status and are excluded from this denominator. The remaining unknown or non-disbursed statuses are also excluded. This selection can bias the result. It is not the probability that a new business fails, not an applicant approval rate and not the percentage of dollars lost.
Bring the evidence into your plan
Quote the licensed kitchen and transport scope, measure recipe yield and prep time, then schedule deposits, vendor payments and paid staff by actual event date.
Build your request from quotations, site scope, owner contribution and monthly cash need. Compare the same program, period and project type before using a sector figure. The worked financing case, startup budget and operating-unit calculation connect a narrower format to its assumptions.
Sources, scope and downloadable tables
Download this profile’s aggregate tables (CSV). Definitions and the original file links are on the data methodology page.
NAICS codes included: 722320. Descriptions appearing in the source: Caterers.
Census NAICS definitions; SBA source dataset; SBA field dictionary.
CSV field definitions and denominator rules · Original source files and SHA-256 checksums. Blank financial medians mean insufficient valid observations, not zero. Profile annual-status downloads include partial FY2026; the comparison headlines exclude that partial year.