Private Black-owned company · Black-owned

Uncle Nearest

Whiskey brand founded and led by Fawn Weaver; the company defaulted on its lending in 2025 and the figure below predates that

Stock value

Share price: Private — not listed
No stock value exists for a company without listed shares.
Revenue: $100M
Reported, not filed · Total sales reported at the time by The Spirits Business · The Spirits Business 2022 · source

Company profile

Black ownership: Not disclosed
No ownership percentage published · Not disclosed
Active ventures: Whiskey, Distillery and visitor centre, Venture fund
Uncle Nearest company site

Culture profile · Food + Hospitality

Black culinary tradition anchors American food culture, while ownership remains concentrated in single units where real estate and franchising decide who builds lasting equity.

Market scale: $1.1T
National Restaurant Association 2024 · US restaurant industry sales, forecast · United States · source
Black-owned share of franchises: Under 3%
Share of all US franchise employer firms. · US Census / Third Way 2021
Firm count growth: 124,004 → 194,585
Black-owned employer firms, 2017 to 2022. · Pew Research Center / Census 2017–2022
SBA financing access: Principal barrier lever
Lending access cited as the decisive constraint on Black franchise ownership. · QSR Magazine 2023
Franchisor diversity pledges: McDonald's, Wendy's, Yum!
Own Your Opportunity and Franchise Accelerator style programmes. · QSR Magazine 2021–2023