How much do lenders finance for a Baja Fresh franchise?

The median SBA loan approved for a Baja Fresh franchise is $618,150, with the middle 80% of loans between $308,500 and $2,564,000. That is the financed portion only - it excludes the buyer's equity injection, which SBA lenders typically require at 10% or more of total project cost for a business acquisition or new franchise unit.

Which lenders finance Baja Fresh franchises?

By dollars approved, the most active SBA lenders for Baja Fresh have been Celtic Bank Corporation, Atlantic Union Bank, Mortgage Capital Development Corporation, Bank Five Nine. Many franchise brands also maintain their own lists of preferred lenders, which may differ from who has historically approved the most volume.

How long are Baja Fresh SBA loans?

The median term is 10 yr. SBA 7(a) terms run up to 10 years for working capital and equipment, and up to 25 years when the loan is secured by real estate - so a longer median usually means the loans included property.

Franchise financing

Financing a Baja Fresh franchise

SBA lenders have approved 16 loans against the Baja Fresh brand since FY2010, totalling $15.4M. The median approval was $618,150. These are loans that actually closed - not projections from a disclosure document.

Rank by loan count

#1114

of 1,651 brands

Loans approved

FY2010 onward

Median loan

$618,150

Typical range

$309K-$2.6M

Middle 80% of loans

Median term

10 yr

Charge-off rate

Cohort too small

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA data, as of 2026-06-30. Approvals from FY2010 onward. How we calculate this.

Lenders

Who financed Baja Fresh

Lender	Loans	Approved
Celtic Bank Corporation	2	$5.3M
Atlantic Union Bank	1	$1.7M
Mortgage Capital Development Corporation	1	$1.5M
Bank Five Nine	1	$1.4M
First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company	1	$840K
BankUnited	1	$724K
Truist Bank	1	$630K
Open Bank	1	$606K

Geography

Where Baja Fresh units were financed

State	Loans	Share
California	9
Maryland	2
Oregon	2
Washington	1
Georgia	1
Texas	1

Approvals by fiscal year

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

’18

’19

’20

Loan count by fiscal year - a rough proxy for how fast the brand was opening units. Final bar is a partial year.

Loan sizes

$50K - $150K
6%
$150K - $350K
13%
$350K - $1M
50%
$1M - $2M
19%
Over $2M
13%

Financing a Baja Fresh: common questions

How much do lenders finance for a Baja Fresh franchise?: The median SBA loan approved for a Baja Fresh franchise is $618,150, with the middle 80% of loans between $308,500 and $2,564,000. That is the financed portion only - it excludes the buyer's equity injection, which SBA lenders typically require at 10% or more of total project cost for a business acquisition or new franchise unit.
Which lenders finance Baja Fresh franchises?: By dollars approved, the most active SBA lenders for Baja Fresh have been Celtic Bank Corporation, Atlantic Union Bank, Mortgage Capital Development Corporation, Bank Five Nine. Many franchise brands also maintain their own lists of preferred lenders, which may differ from who has historically approved the most volume.
How long are Baja Fresh SBA loans?: The median term is 10 yr. SBA 7(a) terms run up to 10 years for working capital and equipment, and up to 25 years when the loan is secured by real estate - so a longer median usually means the loans included property.

Compare other brands

Median loan size and charge-off rate across every franchise in the SBA record.

How SBA 7(a) works

The programme most franchise buyers use, explained end to end.

Buying a franchise with an SBA loan

Equity injection, the franchise directory, and what lenders check.

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