Selling a grocery store in Tennessee is an asset-sale job for most independents: recast earnings, price the stockroom at cost, and walk Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission plus Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health on their own clocks.
Keep a cash reserve in Tennessee for the FNS gap. Authorization is location-and-owner specific. 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.
The Tennessee map
Nashville is not interchangeable with the rest of Tennessee. Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). Your multiple argument is local even though the sourced comps are national. Memphis is not interchangeable with the rest of Tennessee. Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. Your multiple argument is local even though the sourced comps are national. Knoxville / Chattanooga is not interchangeable with the rest of Tennessee. East Tennessee; Food City competitive set. Your multiple argument is local even though the sourced comps are national. Tri-Cities / rural west is not interchangeable with the rest of Tennessee. Small-town independents. Your multiple argument is local even though the sourced comps are national.
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.
Going-concern math
Illustrative, not a quote. A worked Tennessee sketch — not an offer — uses $200,295 of SDE and $209,723 of stockroom cost. Midpoint 2.55× lands near $720,475.
| 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 | $209,723 illustrative cost |
Who must say yes
- Decide leasehold versus dirt before printing a number
- Estimate sellable stock at cost; plan count night
- Put Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health on the same calendar
- Read the wholesaler guarantee
- Recast three Tennessee years into SDE a lender will believe
- Put Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission on a dated workplan
- Pull sales-tax filings for Tennessee
Keep reading confidential sale, valuation guide, SNAP when you sell, liquor transfer. Sibling: buy in Tennessee.
Food-tax and bulk-sale notes
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.
Privilege file: Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Transfer note: ABC plus the local beer board (for beer) must approve; not automatic.. Quota / local-option: Retail package store quotas exist. ABC..
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.
Kroger banners is the name buyers mention first. The rest of the set is Publix, Food City (K-VA-T), Aldi.
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.
Critical path
Kroger banners 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 Publix will mis-read a Tennessee ethnic or rural box. Price the file, not the fascia they drove past.
Do not treat a Food City (K-VA-T) circular as a Tennessee comp. That banner is not in your CIM.
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.
Seller note on Nashville: Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). Package that corridor separately from a statewide teaser.
Seller note on Memphis: Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. Package that corridor separately from a statewide teaser.
Seller note on Knoxville / Chattanooga: East Tennessee; Food City competitive set. Package that corridor separately from a statewide teaser.
Seller note on Tri-Cities / rural west: Small-town independents. Package that corridor separately from a statewide teaser.
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. Sales-tax returns are a sales-corroboration tool here, not just a clearance tool.
Tennessee Education Lottery must re-paper the incoming operator. Treat it as a third-party consent, not an asset that “goes with the keys.”
Tennessee buyers pay for proven earnings and a stockroom they can count — not for a vestibule story.
If the TN box has under 24 months left, say so in the teaser. That is a price cut.
Likely acquirers
Start outreach with people who can survive Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health and a count night in TN.
File you need
Inventory night in Tennessee is a process. Write the unsellable rules before anyone shows up.
Ask how Memphis interacts with Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25) on this Tennessee lease and this privilege.
Ask how Memphis interacts with Aldi on this Tennessee lease and this privilege.
If Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. slips, Aldi usually slips with it on a Tennessee grocery close.
If Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. slips, Nashville usually slips with it on a Tennessee grocery close.
Ask how Memphis interacts with Nashville on this Tennessee lease and this privilege.
Ask how Memphis interacts with Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). on this Tennessee lease and this privilege.
If Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. slips, Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). usually slips with it on a Tennessee grocery close.
If Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. slips, Tennessee usually slips with it on a Tennessee grocery close.
A CIM that names Memphis but hides Knoxville / Chattanooga is not a Tennessee CIM.
A CIM that names Memphis but hides East Tennessee; Food City competitive set. is not a Tennessee CIM.
C&S Wholesale Grocers is not decorative in Tennessee. Neither is Food City (K-VA-T).
Buyers who understand Nashville still trip on Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) in Tennessee if the count is sloppy.
Knoxville / Chattanooga is not decorative in Tennessee. Neither is Tri-Cities / rural west.
Buyers who understand Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). still trip on Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. in Tennessee if the count is sloppy.
C&S Wholesale Grocers is not decorative in Tennessee. Neither is Tri-Cities / rural west.
Buyers who understand Nashville still trip on Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. in Tennessee if the count is sloppy.
Knoxville / Chattanooga is not decorative in Tennessee. Neither is Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health.
Buyers who understand Fast-growth independents and immigrant corridors (Antioch, south Nashville). still trip on Tennessee Department of Revenue / ABC as applicable in Tennessee if the count is sloppy.
Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25) is not decorative in Tennessee. Neither is Neighborhood independents and food-access sites..
Buyers who understand Publix still trip on Small-town independents. in Tennessee if the count is sloppy.
Counsel should see Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. and Publix before a Tennessee exclusivity period starts.
Counsel should see Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. and C&S Wholesale Grocers before a Tennessee exclusivity period starts.
Counsel should see TN and Knoxville / Chattanooga before a Tennessee exclusivity period starts.
Counsel should see TN and East Tennessee; Food City competitive set. before a Tennessee exclusivity period starts.
Counsel should see Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. and Knoxville / Chattanooga before a Tennessee exclusivity period starts.
Counsel should see Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. and East Tennessee; Food City competitive set. before a Tennessee exclusivity period starts.
Counsel should see TN and Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission before a Tennessee exclusivity period starts.
Counsel should see TN and Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25) before a Tennessee exclusivity period starts.
Write Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. into the LOI beside Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission before anyone in Tennessee tours.
Write Neighborhood independents and food-access sites. into the LOI beside Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25) before anyone in Tennessee tours.
The honest Tennessee teaser mentions Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25) in the same breath as Tennessee Department of Agriculture (retail food) and local health.
Publix is not decorative in Tennessee. Neither is Tennessee Department of Revenue / ABC as applicable.
Buyers who understand Federal $7.25 (Tennessee has no state minimum wage, or the state rate is lower than federal; FLSA-covered employers pay $7.25) still trip on Kroger banners in Tennessee if the count is sloppy.
Put Publix on a dated workplan. Put Food City (K-VA-T) on the same Tennessee workplan.
The honest Tennessee teaser mentions Nashville in the same breath as Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG).