SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · NEW JERSEY
Hand and Stone franchise in New Jersey: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Hand and Stone in New Jersey have taken 30 SBA loans since 1991 (average $603,240), and of the 15 loans whose story has ended, 0.0% were charged off — versus 2.8% for Hand and Stone nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands.
Loans in NJ
30
Resolved
15
Local charge-off
0.0%
National charge-off
2.8%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = NJ. Charge-off rate = charged-off ÷ (charged-off + paid-in-full); open loans excluded. A local rate is published only when the resolved cohort clears our floor.
Businesses in this industry
4,284
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
45.1
national 26.6
Versus the country
+70%
denser
Every business in Hand and Stone's industry operating in New Jersey — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across 198 brand-state cells in our loan data, the densest quartile charges off at 5.6% versus 18.1% in the thinnest. A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
Avg weekly wage, this industry
$607
New Jersey, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$698
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-13%
cheaper to staff
What Hand and Stone's industry actually pays workers in New Jersey, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025), employment-weighted across counties. This is a real cost signal independent of the FDD — a market can look demand-rich above and still carry a margin headwind here if local wages run hot for the sector.
| System | Loans in NJ | Local charge-off | Units in NJ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Tans | 41 | 15.2% | — |
| GREAT CLIPS | 21 | 13.3% | — |
| European Wax Centers-Galleria | 18 | 0.0% | — |
| Amazing Lash Studio | 14 | thin | 17 |
| Fantastic Sams | 13 | thin | — |
| Planet Beach | 11 | thin | — |
| SUPERCUTS | 8 | thin | 65 |
| The Lash Lounge | 7 | thin | — |
| WAXING THE CITY | 7 | thin | — |
| SPAVIA | 5 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Hand and Stone compares to the systems a buyer in New Jersey would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Hand and Stone's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.