66 SBA loans have financed El Pollo Lo locations since 1990, written by 34 different lenders across 10 states. Half were approved for $511K or less, the mix is a mix of 7(a) and 504, and 27% went to owners whose business was under two years old.
A lender that has already underwritten this brand knows the unit economics, the build-out costs, and the franchisor. That is worth more to you than a bigger bank starting from scratch.