Ponderosa Steak House
The total investment to open a Ponderosa Steak House franchise ranges from $50,000 to $780,000. The initial franchise fee is $45,500.
What is the Ponderosa Steak House franchise?
Ponderosa Steak House is a full service restaurant serving steakhouse meals to diners. Estimated opening costs are $50,000 to $780,000, and the initial franchise fee is $45,500.
The franchise is headquartered in Essexville, Michigan.
Loan Activity Score
22/100
SBA Default Rate
18.9%
Active Lenders
24
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Ponderosa Steak House has 30 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 24 lenders made 37 loans to franchisees of Ponderosa Steak House. PeerSense calculates Ponderosa Steak House's score as 22 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
30 locations
$50,000 to $780,000
$45,500
30
30 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
LimitedDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Ponderosa Steak House
37
Total SBA loans
$394K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Ponderosa Steak House
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Established (25 to 99 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
18.9%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
37
Total Volume
$14.6M
Active Lenders
24
2 selective
States
15
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 Ponderosa Steak House based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
18.9%
8.6% above peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
37 loans
Across 24 lenders
Lender Diversity
24 lenders
Avg 1.5 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Significant investment
$50,000 to $780,000 total
Ponderosa Steak House: 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
1998
6 approvals. The best year on record for Ponderosa Steak House.
Top SBA State
Michigan
8 SBA financed Ponderosa Steak House locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$394K
Median $209K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Ponderosa Steak House unit.
Lender Concentration
35.1%
Moderately Spread
Share of Ponderosa Steak House approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Ponderosa Steak House's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 1998 (6 approvals). Operator density is highest in Michigan with 8 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $394K, with the median at $209K. Lender mix is moderately spread: the top three SBA lenders account for 35.1% of approvals. Meaningful choice exists, but specific lenders carry the brand.
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
Ponderosa Steak House, 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