SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · NORTH CAROLINA
Penn Station franchise in North Carolina: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Penn Station in North Carolina have taken 5 SBA loans since 1991 (average $416,380)— too few resolved loans in-state to publish a local failure rate (we require a resolved cohort, never extrapolate), so the brand's national rate of 1.9% is the better guide.
Loans in NC
5
Resolved
3
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
1.9%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = NC. 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 of 30 loans.
Businesses in this industry
19,235
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
174.1
national 179.9
Versus the country
-3%
thinner
Every business in Penn Station's industry operating in North Carolina — 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.
| System | Loans in NC | Local charge-off | Units in NC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiznos | 61 | 16.1% | — |
| Zaxby's | 54 | 10.3% | — |
| Domino's Pizza | 34 | 0.0% | — |
| Dunkin Donuts/Baskin-Robbins Co-Brand | 33 | 6.9% | — |
| Tropical Smoothie Cafe | 30 | 0.0% | 81 |
| Culver's | 28 | thin | — |
| Cicis Pizza | 27 | 14.8% | — |
| Jimmy John's | 27 | 5.3% | — |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 25 | 41.2% | — |
| Marco's Pizza | 23 | 0.0% | — |
| Smoothie King (Health Food Store) | 22 | 29.4% | — |
| Mellow Mushroom | 19 | 25.0% | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Penn Station compares to the systems a buyer in North Carolina 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. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Penn Station's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →