Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in Tennessee

Tennessee's beverage makers borrow heavily compared with their peers. Across FY2017 to FY2026 the agency approved 28 brewery, winery and distillery loans here, totalling $28.2 million, and a median of $480,500 stands 1.66x above the nationwide class figure. Half the notes land from $167,625 to $1.3 million. By count Tennessee ranks 32 of 53 among states and the class stands 16 of 39 inside the state, while the location quotient of 0.70x shows producers take a smaller share of Tennessee's SBA lending than the national book shows.

Program, franchise and place

Twenty-five of the loans rest on 7(a) and 3 on 504, and the franchise share is 0.00%. Pinnacle Bank is the main 7(a) holder with 5 loans worth $5.1 million. Geography runs across the state: Shelby has 6 loans, Knox 4, Hamilton and Rutherford 3 each, and Davidson, McMinn and Montgomery 2 each, with Campbell, Henry and Jefferson at 1.

Year by year

FY2018 had 8 loans worth $8.9 million. FY2019 had none and $0, FY2022 had 2 loans worth only $415,000, FY2023 had 4 worth $6.2 million, and FY2024 had 3 worth $233,100. FY2026 shows 1 loan of $145,500. Dollars and counts therefore move independently, and a study should not treat a year as typical. Tennessee's cancellation and charge-off floors are omitted because the cohort sits under 30 loans; a blank here says the sample is too small, not that no loan failed.

Scope and what a Tennessee study must test

The brewing, wine and spirits class rests on industry codes that tell us only that the borrower makes the product; whether visitors come to a tasting room or event hall goes unrecorded. Wineries are included, while the wider universe of manufacturing is excluded. A Tennessee study should split the plan into production and visitor revenue, test distribution and wholesale access, and check licensing and local alcohol rules for each site. Capital cost should be justified against a ticket well above the national figure, and debt service coverage tested at conservative volumes during ramp-up. Appraisers struggle with special-purpose production buildings, so the study should estimate resale value to a general industrial or restaurant user.