Liquor Store Feasibility Study in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area

Large liquor store loans in Marion County

Indianapolis liquor store loans run big. SBA lists 53 for FY2017 to FY2026 totaling $51.4 million, and the median of $626,100 is 1.39x the national class median. Half of loans fall between $458,600 and $1.3 million, a narrow, high band. At 0.84x, the location quotient puts liquor stores a little below their national weight in Indianapolis lending, and the class is 10 of 39 on the local list. Indianapolis ranks 21 of 426 among metro and micro areas.

Independent and urban

Franchise share is 0.00%. Marion County, IN carries 41 loans and Hamilton County, IN 6, so the core city dominates and the northern suburbs are a minority. Indianapolis withholds its 7(a) and 504 tallies, so the page cannot say whether property purchases explain the large tickets.

Three holders with equal counts

Merchants Bank of Indiana ($8.7 million), First Bank Richmond ($3.0 million) and KeyBank National Association ($10.5 million) each appear on 7 of the 53 loans as 7(a) holder of record, so equal counts hide very unequal dollars. These are SBA tallies of holdings and say nothing of how the banks lend. FY2020 printed 6 loans and $4.4 million, FY2021 printed 9 and $9.5 million, FY2025 printed 0 and $0, and FY2026 printed 5 and $9.7 million. Seven years are withheld: FY2017 to FY2019 and FY2022 to FY2024.

Outcome rates withheld

For Indianapolis liquor, cancellation and charge-off are both held back, and nobody should read either as zero. The metro is the project county's area under the July 2023 list, matched by name.

What an Indianapolis study must test

Given a median of $626,100, the study should state what is being bought, the building, the fixtures, the inventory or the license. Test Indiana permit rules and the status of nearby licensed competitors, the working capital needed to stock the store, and the pull of the specific corner. Debt service coverage should be run at $626,100 and at the top near $1.3 million. The appraiser should value real estate, fixtures and the going business apart. Theft, shrink and delivery schedules also deserve a line, since small margin errors compound quickly at this scale.