Mara's Cafe & Bakery
The total investment to open a Mara's Cafe & Bakery franchise ranges from $50,000 to $350,000. The initial franchise fee is $25,000.
What is the Mara's Cafe & Bakery franchise?
Mara's Cafe & Bakery is a cafe and bakery. The estimated total initial investment is $50,000 to $350,000, and the initial franchise fee is $25,000. It sells coffee, baked goods, and cafe meals to customers.
The brand was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Maplewood, NJ.
Loan Activity Score
14/100
SBA Default Rate
50.0%
Active Lenders
1
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Mara's Cafe & Bakery has 2 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 1 lender made 6 loans to franchisees of Mara's Cafe & Bakery. PeerSense calculates Mara's Cafe & Bakery's score as 14 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
Franchising since 2004 · 2 locations
$50,000 to $350,000
$25,000
2
2 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
LimitedDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Mara's Cafe & Bakery
6
Total SBA loans
$247K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Mara's Cafe & Bakery
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Emerging (3 to 9 loans)
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
50.0%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
6
Total Volume
$1.5M
Active Lenders
1
States
2
vs. SBA Sector Average
SBA loan default rate vs. all franchises in the same NAICS sector, not limited to direct competitors
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for Mara's Cafe & Bakery based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
50.0%
39.7% above peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
6 loans
Across 1 lender
Lender Diversity
1 lender
Avg 6.0 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Mid range investment
$50,000 to $350,000 total
Mara's Cafe & Bakery: Deep SBA Data
Brand specific metrics derived directly from SBA 7(a) approval records: peak lending year, leading state, average loan size, and lender concentration. PeerSense computes these per brand so capital advisors and prospective franchisees can benchmark this opportunity against the rest of the franchise universe.
Peak SBA Year
2015
4 approvals. The best year on record for Mara's Cafe & Bakery.
Top SBA State
New Jersey
4 SBA financed Mara's Cafe & Bakery locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$247K
Median $340K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Mara's Cafe & Bakery unit.
Lender Concentration
100%
Concentrated
Share of Mara's Cafe & Bakery approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Mara's Cafe & Bakery's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2015 (4 approvals). Operator density is highest in New Jersey with 4 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $247K, with the median at $340K. Lender mix is concentrated: the top three SBA lenders account for 100% of approvals. Credit decisions concentrate with a small group of incumbents.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$518
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
Mara's Cafe & Bakery, unit breakdown
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Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; it does not lend, fund, or approve loans, and the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman