Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health have to accept you. That is the TN buy-side calendar.
The Tennessee register can be 30 percent EBT and still have zero transferable permit value. Skip blogs that invent how many Tennessee grocers exist. We did not. Tennessee does not get a homemade earnings multiple on this site. BizBuySell’s 2025 grocery sold average is 3.38; the 2021–2025 IQR is 1.60–3.15.
Wage and tax drag in Tennessee
Nashville rewards operators who already know the language and the produce house. Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). Memphis rewards operators who already know the language and the produce house. Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. Knoxville / Chattanooga rewards operators who already know the language and the produce house. East Tennessee; Food City competitive set. Tri-Cities / rural west rewards operators who already know the language and the produce house. Small-town independents.
DOL’s July 1, 2026 consolidated table lists Tennessee at Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25). Federal $7.25 applies per DOL table. Confirm Tennessee DOL posters.
What comes to market
Illustrative, not a quote. A worked Tennessee sketch — not an offer — uses $352,495 of SDE and $161,909 of stockroom cost. Midpoint 2.29× lands near $969,123.
| Owner | Agency | Close note |
|---|---|---|
| Retail food | Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health | New operator, not a sticker |
| Alcohol | Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission | Approval, not a handshake |
| EBT | USDA FNS | New application |
| Inventory | Count crew | $161,909 illustrative cost |
Lender math
Tennessee wage levels belong in the payment model. A note that worked in a federal-wage state can fail here.
Privilege path
- Read drop minimums and over-advances
- Recast on market rent if the seller owns the box
- Model occupancy as a share of sales — no invented rent/sf
- Budget FNS downtime
- Drive the true corridor, not the city name
- Reject repeating “inventory adjustments” as add-backs
- Call Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health about the retail food file
Keep reading how to buy, SBA 7(a), lease diligence, P&L review. Sibling: sell in Tennessee.
Proof of sales
Counsel still confirms the closing-date rate. The pack’s Tennessee note reads: State sales tax on food and food ingredients is 4% plus applicable local tax (Tennessee DOR SUT-53). Candy, dietary supplements, and prepared food are excluded from the reduced food rate.
Do not assume supermarket spirits in Tennessee. Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission is the named authority.
Payroll underwriting in TN starts at Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25) on the consolidated WHD table. Federal $7.25 applies per DOL table. Confirm Tennessee DOL posters.
Clearance practice: Confirm Tennessee DOR tax clearance / successor liability on the asset sale.
Retail food: Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health. WIC: Tennessee Department of Health — WIC. Tobacco: Tennessee Department of Revenue / ABC as applicable.
Named banners in the Tennessee pack: Kroger banners; Publix; Food City (K-VA-T); Aldi. They are wallpaper, not your sold comps.
Wholesale names that show up: Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), C&S Wholesale Grocers, UNFI. Over-advances and personal guarantees travel.
Nashville is not “statewide Tennessee.” Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville).
If the box sits in Memphis, say so in the teaser. Neighborhood independents and food-access sites.
Knoxville / Chattanooga: East Tennessee; Food City competitive set. Price that pocket as its own trade area.
If the box sits in Tri-Cities / rural west, say so in the teaser. Small-town independents.
Broker-list note (not a HedgeStone license claim): Published business-broker licensing lists do not consistently treat Tennessee as a real-estate-license-for-brokerage state. That is not the same as “unregulated”: securities, franchise, and local rules can still apply, and lists conflict. If the deal includes real estate (the building or an interest in real property), a real estate license is required in every state. This sentence is not a claim that HedgeStone or Jason Taken holds a license in this state. Source: https://www.bizbuysell.com/learning-center/article/business-broker-licenses-certifications/ (accessed 2026-09-03).
Incentive language stays qualitative: Federal HFFI may apply in Memphis/rural tracts; no dollar figure recorded.
Trade areas
A traveling buyer who only knows Kroger banners will mis-read a Tennessee ethnic or rural box. Price the file, not the fascia they drove past.
A traveling buyer who only knows Publix will mis-read a Tennessee ethnic or rural box. Price the file, not the fascia they drove past.
Food City (K-VA-T) sets milk-and-egg price perception in parts of Tennessee. Your independent still has to win trips that banner does not want.
A traveling buyer who only knows Aldi will mis-read a Tennessee ethnic or rural box. Price the file, not the fascia they drove past.
Ask whether Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) will keep the incoming operator. A Tennessee close that ignores that book is a close that reopens.
Ask whether C&S Wholesale Grocers will keep the incoming operator. A Tennessee close that ignores that book is a close that reopens.
UNFI terms in Tennessee belong in the recast. Drop minimums and personal guarantees travel with the buyer.
Buyer note on Nashville: Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). Drive it before you write an LOI.
Buyer note on Memphis: Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. Drive it before you write an LOI.
Buyer note on Knoxville / Chattanooga: East Tennessee; Food City competitive set. Drive it before you write an LOI.
Buyer note on Tri-Cities / rural west: Small-town independents. Drive it before you write an LOI.
Incentives stay qualitative in Tennessee: Federal HFFI may apply in Memphis/rural tracts; no dollar figure recorded.
Tobacco / health counterparties: Tennessee Department of Revenue / ABC as applicable. Food: Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health.
DOL’s July 1, 2026 consolidated table lists Tennessee at Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25). Federal $7.25 applies per DOL table. Confirm Tennessee DOL posters.
Tennessee does not share one national grocery-tax story. State sales tax on food and food ingredients is 4% plus applicable local tax (Tennessee DOR SUT-53). Candy, dietary supplements, and prepared food are excluded from the reduced food rate. Counsel still confirms the rate in force on the closing date.
If the store sells tickets, Tennessee Education Lottery is a separate retailer contract and is not part of the bill of sale.
Tennessee buyers pay for proven earnings and a stockroom they can count — not for a vestibule story.
Assignment language on a Tennessee lease is often the whole critical path.
If Food City (K-VA-T) slips, East Tennessee; Food City competitive set. usually slips with it on a Tennessee grocery close.
If Food City (K-VA-T) slips, Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission usually slips with it on a Tennessee grocery close.
Tennessee outreach should start with people who have already survived UNFI and Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
Tennessee outreach should start with people who have already survived UNFI and Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25).
If Food City (K-VA-T) slips, Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25) usually slips with it on a Tennessee grocery close.
If Food City (K-VA-T) slips, Aldi usually slips with it on a Tennessee grocery close.
Tennessee outreach should start with people who have already survived UNFI and Aldi.
Tennessee outreach should start with people who have already survived UNFI and Nashville.
If Small-town independents. slips, Nashville usually slips with it on a Tennessee grocery close.
If Small-town independents. slips, Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). usually slips with it on a Tennessee grocery close.
Put C&S Wholesale Grocers on a dated workplan. Put Kroger banners on the same Tennessee workplan.
A lender reading Nashville next to Food City (K-VA-T) will ask better Tennessee questions than a listings tourist.
Put Knoxville / Chattanooga on a dated workplan. Put Memphis on the same Tennessee workplan.
A lender reading Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). next to Tri-Cities / rural west will ask better Tennessee questions than a listings tourist.
Put C&S Wholesale Grocers on a dated workplan. Put Memphis on the same Tennessee workplan.
A lender reading Nashville next to Tri-Cities / rural west will ask better Tennessee questions than a listings tourist.
Put Knoxville / Chattanooga on a dated workplan. Put TN on the same Tennessee workplan.
A lender reading Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). next to Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health will ask better Tennessee questions than a listings tourist.
C&S Wholesale Grocers is not decorative in Tennessee. Neither is Tennessee Department of Revenue / ABC as applicable.
Buyers who understand Nashville still trip on Kroger banners in Tennessee if the count is sloppy.
Food City (K-VA-T) in Tennessee changes how Nashville is scheduled on a close calendar.
Food City (K-VA-T) in Tennessee changes how Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). is scheduled on a close calendar.
UNFI in Tennessee changes how Tennessee is scheduled on a close calendar.
UNFI in Tennessee changes how Tennessee Department of Health — WIC is scheduled on a close calendar.
Food City (K-VA-T) in Tennessee changes how Tennessee is scheduled on a close calendar.
Food City (K-VA-T) in Tennessee changes how Tennessee Department of Health — WIC is scheduled on a close calendar.
UNFI in Tennessee changes how Publix is scheduled on a close calendar.
UNFI in Tennessee changes how C&S Wholesale Grocers is scheduled on a close calendar.
Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health in Tennessee changes how Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission is scheduled on a close calendar.
Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health in Tennessee changes how Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25) is scheduled on a close calendar.
A lender reading Aldi next to Food City (K-VA-T) will ask better Tennessee questions than a listings tourist.
C&S Wholesale Grocers plus Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) is most of the non-price work on a Tennessee independent.
Quiet process in Tennessee means Aldi stays off the sales floor while UNFI is still in motion.
Skip C&S Wholesale Grocers and you will meet Memphis as a Tennessee re-trade.
A lender reading Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). next to Tri-Cities / rural west will ask better Tennessee questions than a listings tourist.
East Tennessee; Food City competitive set. plus Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. is most of the non-price work on a Tennessee independent.
Quiet process in Tennessee means Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). stays off the sales floor while Small-town independents. is still in motion.
Worked numbers
Illustrative, not a quote. For a Tennessee, recast SDE of $377,000 at 1.88×–3.12× plus $228,699 inventory at cost frames a going-concern band of about $937,459 to $1,404,939. The 2.23× midpoint lands near $1,069,409. Lease remaining term and license lag can move the check more than the multiple.
$1 trillion in 2025 supermarket sales (FMI). 2.1% average net profit for food retailers in 2025 (FMI Speaks sample). SBA 7(a) can finance a change of ownership; the published maximum is $5 million.
Read turns, DSD, wholesaler, asset sale. Cross-check how a sale works and the FAQ. Format pages live under sell an independent supermarket and buy an independent supermarket. Tools: valuation calculator, cash-to-close, rent checker.