The founders of troubled Tennessee distillery Nearest Green oppose efforts to place more of their businesses under the court’s control.
Nearest Green Distillery and Uncle Nearest whiskey have been in the hands of a receiver since September at the request of Kentucky lender Farm Credit, which said founders Fawn and Keith Weaver defaulted on more than $108 million in loans.
Uncle Nearest is one of several troubled distilleries facing financial difficulties amid a nosedive in the spirits market as Americans drink less and exports shrink due to President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Earlier this month, receiver Phillip Young asked U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley Jr. for a ruling on whether other assets attached to the financially distressed distillery, the whiskey and the Weavers should be included in the receivership, including a restaurant and entertainment venue on the distillery grounds in Shelbyville, Tenn.
The Nearest Green Distillery in Tennessee is in the hands of a receiver after a federal judge ruled in favor of Kentucky lender Farm Credit’s petition to remove founders Fawn and Keith Weaver from operating it in September. Uncle Nearest
The receiver had asked the court for “clarification” on whether to include those entities because as they seem to have intermingled finances with the distillery.
Lender Farm Credit supports expanding the pool of assets but, as expected, the Weavers do not.
What Nearest Green founders Fawn, Keith Weaver say
In new court documents filed late Tuesday, the Weavers said the 10 entities are unrelated to the distillery and not liable for its debts. Placing them under the receiver’s control would “divest” the Weavers and others of their financial interests, they argued in court documents.
The new motion also asserts Uncle Nearest isn’t insolvent and has sufficient assets to cover the default loans on its own without roping in any other businesses.
The Weavers also said “unsubstantiated accusations” by Farm Credit in court filings had caused “immediate financial and reputational harm” for the businesses, including causing vendors to stop doing business with the company and customers to stop placing orders.
“This is apparently the intent of Farm Credit even though Farm Credit has not provided one shred of evidence to support its allegations,” the filing reads. “The non-defendants have suffered significant financial losses as a result of this effort by Farm Credit that has no legitimate legal or factual basis, is not necessary to protect Farm Credit’s interests, and appears solely intended to harm the non-defendants and the interests of Fawn and Keith Weaver.”
Nearest Green founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest Fawn Weaver, seen in this file photo, said Kentucky lender Farm Credit’s accusations have harmed her other businesses.
Farm Credit has not filed any new supporting documents to back up its allegations as of Tuesday, the Weavers pointed out, despite an order from the federal judge to do so.
The distillery founders have said they were the victims of fraud by a former employee, and in the new filing they allege Farm Credit may have some “exposure” for the fraud due to an alleged relationship between a bank loan officer and the former distillery chief financial officer.
What are the other businesses being considered for receivership?
The 10 entities the Weavers asked the court to decline to place under the receivership umbrella include:
In March 2023, Humble Baron Bar announced it had been officially certified as the longest bar in the world by Guinness World Records at a grand opening ceremony where Nearest Green founder Keith Weaver cut the ribbon. Uncle Nearest apparently paid thousands for the record, and now the financially distressed whiskey brand’s lender is using that payment to make the case the bar is an asset of the distillery. Humble Baron
- Humble Baron Inc., which operates the Humble Baron Bar at Nearest Green Distillery. The distillery paid $125,000 for a Guinness World Record naming it the longest bar in the world for publicity, but according to the recent opposition filing, Humble Baron is owned by a blind trust for which Keith Weaver is the beneficiary. Humble Baron has a lease on the bar through 2030 but, the filing reads, because of the three-tier system that regulates alcohol, it must be maintained as a completely separate business. According to the filing, placing the bar under the same receivership as the distillery could violate alcohol laws and require one or both to immediately cease operations.
- Grant Sidney Inc., which is owned by Fawn Weaver, owns about 40% of Uncle Nearest, according to the filing, making it the largest shareholder. According to Weavers, earlier this year Grant Sidney made several cash infusions in the distillery to cover payroll, but booked them as barrel sales. They plan to “recharacterize” up to $30 million of these infusions as loans, according to the filing.
- 4 Front Street, which is a limited liability corporation Keith Weaver has a minority interest in. Fawn Weaver has no stake in this company, according to the filing.
- Weaver Interwoven Family Foundation, which “is a name under consideration for a proposed charitable venture to manage the philanthropic efforts of Keith and Fawn Weaver,” according to the filing.
- Quill and Cask Owner LLC, a Tennessee company owned by Keith Weaver to “purchase, hold and sell assets for profit, including real estate, bulk whiskey and other assets. It has no connection to Uncle Nearest other than having made barrel purchases from Uncle Nearest.” According to the filing, Quill paid $275,000 to Uncle Nearest for barrels.
- Shelbyville Barrel House BBQ LLC, a Tennessee LLC that owns and operates Chuck’s Barrel House BBQ II, a walk-up restaurant concept that also serves beer. It’s owned by Keith Weaver and is located at Nearest Green Distillery, according to the filing.
- Classic Hops Brewing Co., which is a potential DBA (doing business as) of a corporation owned by Keith Wever, according to the filing. It’s “an innovative beer brand and brewpub under development and has no connection to any of the Uncle Nearest entities,” the Weavers said.
- Nashwood Inc., “a hospitality, entertainment and real estate company that is owned 100% by Keith Weaver,” according to the filing. Nashwood provided real estate project management services to Nearest Green Distillery two years ago and provides occasional related services to the distillery, but otherwise is not connected, according to the Weavers. Nashwood also provides management services to Shelbyville Barrel House BBQ and Humble Baron.
- Shelbyville Grand LLC, a Tennessee LLC owned by Keith Weaver that owns and manages real estate, including some warehouse space that stores Nearest Green Distillery supplies. According to the filing, the distillery owes Shelbyville Grand rental payments dating back to February.
- Uncle Nearest Spurs VI LLC, a Delaware corporation owned by Fawn Weaver “created for a special purpose that never came to fruition. The company has no operations, has no assets, and has no liabilities,” and no connection to Uncle Nearest, according to the filing.
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