24 SBA loans have financed Sterling Optical locations since 1997, written by 14 different lenders across 9 states. Half were approved for $211K or less, the mix is almost entirely 7(a), and 25% 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.