SBA 7(a) Liquor Store Feasibility Study in Mississippi

One county, no franchises

Mississippi liquor stores are an owner-operated business with a sharp geographic skew, one that the state totals hide. Desoto County accounts for 10 of the 38 loans approved under SBA 7(a) from FY2017 to FY2026, which total $21.2 million; Madison follows with 3, and Chickasaw, Harrison, Hinds and Itawamba show 2 each. Franchise brands are absent, at 0.00%. The concentration is the cell's mark against the state overall and against liquor retail nationally.

Size and standing

The median loan of $388,000 comes to 0.88x against liquor stores elsewhere, with the central half between $150,000 and $865,300. Mississippi is 27 among states by count, and liquor stores hold 9 of 39 in the Mississippi asset list. BayFirst National Bank is the one holder named in the table, with 6 loans and $1.1 million, and its presence says only that SBA lists it as holder. Approvals peaked at 9 in FY2023 with $4.6 million, against single loans in FY2019, FY2021 and FY2022.

A low cancellation record

At 6.5% of the earlier approvals, cancellation is low, and undisbursed loans do not move it. Loss experience is not reported, and the omission means that nothing is known about charge-offs rather than that none occurred.

What the Mississippi study should test

State control of spirits matters here. The study should confirm how the permit is obtained, whether it transfers with a sale and what local rules say about location near churches, schools and neighboring counties. Because one county leads, many borrowers likely serve shoppers who cross a county line, so the trade area should be defined by where legal alternatives lie. The model must show inventory investment, gross margin by category and the effect of shrinkage, together with hours and staffing. Where the loan buys a going store, earnings should be rebuilt from sales-tax and tax-return figures, with the seller's own pay and the family labor in the books restated at market cost. A building purchase should be split between real estate and the business so the appraisal and the debt service test can each be checked. A request far above the $388,000 median needs its own explanation. The plan should also say how the store will handle theft, age checks and cash handling, because those controls shape both insurance cost and the lender's comfort.