SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · ILLINOIS
CENTRAL BARK franchise in Illinois: what the public record shows
Franchisees of CENTRAL BARK in Illinois have taken 7 SBA loans since 1991 (average $865,528)— too few resolved loans in-state to publish a local failure rate (we require a resolved cohort, never extrapolate), so the brand's national rate of 12.0% is the better guide. Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 4 franchised outlets in Illinois (fiscal 2025) — about 0.03 per 100k residents.
Loans in IL
7
Resolved
1
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
12.0%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = IL. Charge-off rate = charged-off ÷ (charged-off + paid-in-full); open loans excluded. A local rate is published only when the resolved cohort clears our floor of 30 loans.
Businesses in this industry
975
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
7.7
national 7.2
Versus the country
+7%
denser
Every business in CENTRAL BARK's industry operating in Illinois — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across 198 brand-state cells in our loan data, the densest quartile charges off at 5.6% versus 18.1% in the thinnest. A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
| Fiscal year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 | — |
| 2024 | 3 | — |
| 2025 | 4 | — |
| System | Loans in IL | Local charge-off | Units in IL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Bow Wow | 13 | thin | — |
| Dogtopia | 11 | thin | — |
| Pet Supplies Plus | 5 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how CENTRAL BARK compares to the systems a buyer in Illinois would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing CENTRAL BARK's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
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