Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in Ohio

Ohio's beverage loans run smaller than the national norm

Ohio's breweries, wineries and distilleries borrow less per deal than their counterparts nationally, and that is the distinctive figure in this cell: a median Ohio approval of $169,000, which is 0.58x the class median across the country. The gap sets Ohio apart from its wider SBA record and from the class nationally. Volume is strong all the same. With 219 loans and $109.3 million approved over FY2017 to FY2026, Ohio ranks 3 of 53 among states for beverage manufacturing, and a location quotient of 1.08x puts the class a touch above its national weight; inside Ohio it places 10 of 39.

One bank holds much of the Ohio book

The Huntington National Bank holds 84 of the 7(a) loans, worth $25.5 million, far ahead of German American Bank with 16 loans and $5.3 million and Telhio Credit Union Inc with 12 and $5.2 million; First Commonwealth Bank and The Community Bank have 8 each. SBA 7(a) carried 197 loans in all and SBA 504 only 22, where Alloy Development Co., Inc. holds 8 worth $11.5 million and Ohio Statewide Development Corporation 5. Ohio's central half of approvals runs from $61,000 to $635,200, a lower end that fits equipment, working capital or a small fit-out, with only the upper band reaching production buildings. Franchising is almost absent at 1.8%. Franklin County leads with 42 loans, then Hamilton with 36, Cuyahoga with 21 and Summit with 12.

Thinning approvals and light losses

Approvals have thinned since the early years: FY2018 brought 40 Ohio loans, while FY2023 and FY2024 brought 15 each and FY2026 just 2. Cancellations sit at a floor of 11.0% for FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, or 11.5% with undisbursed loans counted. Losses are light: charge-offs to date touch 2.3% of the 133 Ohio loans funded in FY2017 to FY2021, while nothing failed inside the first five years (0.00%). Those are floors on open loans. For a borrower, the shrinking count of recent approvals means a new Ohio project should be ready to explain how it differs from the producers already selling there.

An Ohio beverage study has to show where the volume will be sold, by the glass on site, through distributors or both, and test that against the brands already competing for the same taps and shelves. On cost, a small Ohio loan usually means leased space and modest equipment, so build-out, licensing and working capital must be priced tightly. Payments have to be covered through the slow season and the first distribution push. If a building is involved, the appraisal should be tested early, since a production space with fixed tanks has few buyers if an Ohio lender ever has to sell it.

The code says only that an Ohio borrower produces beer, wine or spirits; any taproom, tasting room or event trade goes unseen, and makers of anything else sit outside the class.