SBA 7(a) Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in New York

New York beverage makers borrow lightly

Breweries, wineries and distilleries in New York drew 222 SBA 7(a) loans worth $80.9 million from FY2017 to FY2026. The distinguishing metric is size: the median of $150,000 is 0.60x of what beverage makers receive under 7(a) nationally, and the central half spans $52,000 to $346,250. New York is 2 among states for this program and class, but the class itself stands 14 of 39 in the state. There are no franchise loans, a franchise share of 0.00%.

What the code can and cannot see

The industry code only tells you the business produces beer, wine or spirits; it says nothing about a taproom, tasting room or event space, so a loan for a venue that mostly sells pours is counted the same way as one for a production floor. The class was drawn to cover these three beverage trades, wineries included, and the rest of manufacturing is excluded. A reader should not assume any given loan funded hospitality.

Lenders

Leading the table is Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, at 60 loans and $12.4 million, while Five Star Bank follows with 27 and $3.8 million. New York Business Development Corporation has 15 loans and $11.7 million, a much higher figure per loan, NBT Bank, National Association 11 and $2.1 million, and KeyBank National Association 10 and $2.9 million. SBA lists the present holder. Monroe County has 17 loans, Kings 16, Erie 14, Suffolk 12, Onondaga 11 and Livingston 10.

Floors and years

Cancellations came to 13.3% at least for approvals dated FY2017 through FY2024, or 14.3% with undisbursed loans counted. Of the 124 loans in the FY2017 to FY2021 cohort, 4.0% are charged off to date and 1.6% inside five years. Approvals fell from 45 in FY2017 to 8 in FY2022, then reached 29 in FY2023 and 13 in FY2026.

Testing a New York beverage project

A study should test production capacity against realistic sales through distribution, taproom and direct channels; the licences and permits that precede any sale; what the equipment and the building will cost; and how tourism seasonality shapes the year. Because the code hides tasting-room revenue, the plan must show how much income comes from on-site sales and what a lender can recover from specialised equipment. Coverage should hold in a slow year, and the appraisal should treat brewing or distilling equipment as thin collateral.