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New York is the third-largest restaurant SBA market in the US — 1,057 loans FY2020-2025 and $433M in approved capital. Deal sizes run smaller than California or Texas, and charge-off performance runs 1.25× the SBA cross-industry average -- driven by NYC-specific rent, labor, and regulatory costs the page walks through in detail.
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SBA 7(a) loans to restaurants operators in New York, fiscal years 2020 through December 2025. Pulled from SBA FOIA 7(a) dataset.
New York ranks 3rd nationally for restaurants SBA volume. The leader (CA) carries roughly 1.95× New York's loan count. Top 8 states account for about half of all national restaurants SBA volume.
The ten banks that have approved the most SBA 7(a) loans to restaurants operators in New York FY2020-2025. Pulled directly from SBA FOIA data. Loan count alone doesn’t capture fit for your specific deal — volume leaders and specialist fit can differ.
New York restaurant SBA lending has a distinctive top-of-list pattern: Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company (M&T Bank) leads with 170 loans at a very small average size ($95K) -- SBA 7(a) Small Loan volume dominating a book of buildout, equipment, and working-capital files. TD Bank (99 loans, $160K avg) holds #2 with a similar small-loan focus. KeyBank (63 loans, $132K avg) rounds out the small-loan-specialist top three.
NewBank (55 loans, $796K avg) is the notable outlier — a Korean-American community bank concentrated in NYC's Korean-restaurant network, running the largest average deal size of any top-5 lender. Northeast Bank (53 loans, $162K avg) rounds out the top five. Takeaway: NY has strong lender coverage across the small-loan and larger-deal tiers, but the mix skews small-loan-heavy compared to CA/TX.
New York is the third-largest state for restaurant SBA lending behind California and Texas, with 1,057 loans approved FY2020-2025 (6.5% national share) totaling $433 million. Deal sizes run notably smaller than other top states: $410,000 average vs. $528,000 nationally (-22%), with a $150,000 median. The smaller deal profile reflects NYC's dense small-independent-operator base and a tilt toward buildout and equipment files rather than large-scale acquisitions.
Growth is running at +10.2% YoY, roughly in line with the national restaurant SBA rate of +8.7%.
NYC (all five boroughs), Long Island, and Westchester carry the bulk of NY restaurant SBA volume. Upstate markets (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany) add meaningful secondary volume — smaller deal sizes but faster close timelines than NYC files.
NY restaurant SBA charges off at 1.70% -- 1.25× the SBA cross-industry average of 1.36% and materially above the national restaurant rate of 1.21%. The elevated rate reflects genuine NY-specific cost pressures rather than lender mispricing:
NY restaurant SBA files with strong unit economics, experienced operators, and clean lease/labor documentation still underwrite favorably. The elevated aggregate rate is a state-level average, not a per-file verdict.
SBA 7(a) is the dominant path for restaurants acquisitions, buildouts, equipment, and working capital. Standard 7(a) goes up to $5 million; 7(a) Small Loan streamlines deals under $500K. SBA 504 handles real estate and heavy fixed-asset purchases when the deal includes the property. Minimum 10% equity injection applies; specialist lenders typically want 15-20% on New York restaurants deals given the higher cost structure. Up to 5% of equity can come from seller financing on full-standby terms.
For the full SBA restaurants lending guide — including program details, independent vs. franchise dynamics, the restaurants charge-off context, and the complete national picture — see our SBA restaurants loan guide. This state page focuses on the New York-specific data and market context on top of that national foundation.
New York restaurants SBA is a specialist segment. The top New York lenders understand the state's cost structure, labor economics, and regulatory context that generalist banks routinely miss. See the broader SBA restaurants guide or SBA loans hub.
Match with New York SBA lenders →MMM does not originate SBA loans. Applications are processed through SBA-authorized lenders. Statistics above are sourced from the SBA FOIA 7(a) dataset, fiscal years 2020 through December 2025.