Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area

Large national rank, modest local weight

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is 10 of 443 across the country for breweries, wineries and distilleries, yet the class is 14 of 39 inside the area and a quotient of 0.86x leaves it modestly under the national weight. SBA approved 55 loans from FY2017 to FY2026 for $39.7 million. The area spans four jurisdictions: the District of Columbia with 9 loans, and Montgomery County, Maryland, and Loudoun County, Virginia, with 7 each.

A narrowed class

The class covers only breweries, wineries and distilleries. A borrower in this class turns out beer, wine or spirits, and nothing in the code shows a tap room, a tasting counter or a function space. A project that relies on a tasting room for revenue is therefore only partly described here.

Loan size and mix

A midpoint of $315,000 is 1.09x the national figure for the class; the typical loan runs from $95,000 up to $831,500, a wide span that mixes small craft starts with equipment-heavy expansions. The 7(a) program accounts for 45 of them and 504 for 10. The franchise share is withheld.

The year with a spike

FY2017 stands out with 19 loans and $8.4 million. Other printed years are FY2019 with 5 loans and $1.9 million, FY2022 with 8 and $8.7 million, and FY2023 with 6 and $5.2 million. Loan Analytics hides the remaining years under its small-count rule. Cancellation after approval was 10.6% or more for FY2017 through FY2024 approvals; read that as a floor. No ceiling variant and no charge-off rate is printed.

The lender record

Only Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company reaches the naming threshold, with 14 loans worth $2.9 million. As with all lender entries, this describes the current holder in SBA's data and not how that bank lends today.

Testing a Washington-area producer

A study should test the production side first: capacity, equipment cost and the barrels, kegs or cases a plan must sell to cover the payment. It should test the licensing path in each jurisdiction involved, and the months that approvals can add. Distribution, tasting-room sales and event rental should be shown as separate revenue lines. Zoning and the cost of space can decide the plan, and the appraisal has to separate the equipment from the building.