Quantify What You Want in Your Next Brewery Lease

Break a potential lease down and calculate its dollar impact per year - then incorporate that into what you ask for when it’s time to negotiate. Things like tenant improvement (TI) funds, exit clauses, and capped NNN increases should be treated as negotiable, not extras. Use anchoring: ask for two or three concessions you’d love to have. Start from the standpoint of what would be a dream lease for your business and work down from there - not the other way around.

Quantify everything. A $25,000 tenant improvement fund? That’s $5,000 per year on a five-year lease. Be ready to explain how each request helps your brewery - and therefore benefits your landlord. They expect negotiation. These are major commitments, not take-it-or-leave-it deals. Don’t feel guilty about advocating for your business.

Use the Lease & Occupancy Cost Analyzer spreadsheet to support your position with solid numbers and scenarios.

Compare Lease Options spreadsheet

Support your brewery’s position with data

When you're negotiating a lease, don’t just think about the price - think about the value you're getting over time. Concessions like TI funds, free rent, or caps on NNN charges are common - and can save your brewery real money. But you need to ask for them confidently, and it helps to back up your position with numbers.

Here are a few standard asks:

• Tenant improvement funds: Landlords may offer a dollar amount toward buildout or upgrades

• Free rent: 1–3 months of waived rent at lease start

• Cap on NNN increases: To avoid runaway costs from taxes, insurance, or CAM

• Renewal clauses or early exit options: For added flexibility

Translate each of those into dollars. For example:

• 3 months of free rent at $6,000/month = $18,000 savings

• A 3% NNN cap could save $1,500–$3,000/year depending on the property

These aren’t just “nice-to-have” benefits. You’re not just leasing space - you’re creating value for the landlord, and they should compete to have your brewery as a tenant. Concessions like these shape a lease that actually fits your business model.

The Lease & Occupancy Cost Analyzer (linked above) can help you spot the pressure points and compare your options side by side. It’ll also help you figure out which requests will make a meaningful difference - and which ones you can skip.

Calculate the impact of TI, exit clauses, and capped charges on your brewery

Once you’ve built your base lease model, start assigning dollar values to each concession you’re negotiating. These aren’t just perks - they’re tools that reduce your ongoing financial risk, improve cash flow, and give you more peace of mind.

Tenant improvement funds (TI):
If your landlord offers $25,000 in TI funds on a five-year lease, that’s a $5,000 per year benefit. That’s money you don’t have to borrow or drain from your own bank account - and even if it doesn’t lower your rent directly; it functions like a rebate if you're planning to make improvements anyway.

Exit clauses:
A clean exit clause can be worth tens of thousands in risk-adjusted value. Say your occupancy cost is $80,000 per year, and you’ve got three years left on a lease when you realize you need to shut down or relocate. That’s $240,000 in remaining liability. If you negotiate a buyout clause capped at six months’ rent ($40,000), you’re potentially saving $200,000. That’s not just a negotiating win - it’s serious peace of mind.

Capped NNN increases:
Property taxes, insurance, and CAM can be volatile. A 5% jump in one year might seem unlikely - until it happens. Capping annual increases at 3% gives you downside protection. For example, if NNN costs are $20,000 per year and grow 5% annually, they’ll hit $24,310 by Year 5. With a 3% cap, you'd be closer to $22,500 - saving you about $1,800 in Year 5 alone. Not the biggest item, but still worth locking in.

If you're serious about getting a lease that works for your brewery, this is where you earn it - by quantifying the upside of your asks. That’s what separates a wish list from a smart, strategic negotiation.

The Lease & Occupancy Cost Analyzer (linked above) can help you compare different leases with clarity.

Negotiate your brewery lease with confidence, not desperation

You can’t negotiate well if you’re scrambling or unsure. Preparation beats panic - every time. When you walk into a lease negotiation with solid numbers and a clear rationale for your requests, the whole dynamic shifts in your favor. Landlords usually show up with their side modeled out. So should you.

Over-ask.
Don’t be afraid to request more than what you need. It gives you room to compromise while still landing on favorable terms. If you need $10k in TI, ask for $20k. If you want a 3% NNN cap, ask for 2%. Most landlords will negotiate down - this is expected.

But don’t stop at the ask - quantify it.

• 3 months of free rent? That’s $18,000 in savings in Year 1

• $25,000 in TI funds? That’s $5,000/year that supports your margin

• NNN cap? Explain how it protects cash flow from volatility

Stack the request into a clear, written package

Don’t just rattle off random asks. Put it all together:

“Given the projected 5-year cost of this lease and early-year cash flow strain, we’re asking for:
• $25,000 in tenant improvements
• 3 months of free rent
• 3% annual NNN cap
• A 6-month buyout clause after Year 3”

The Lease & Occupancy Cost Analyzer helps you back this up with data. It shows total occupancy cost, % of revenue, and market comparisons like $/sq ft benchmarks. You’re not just asking - you’re presenting numbers. That tells the landlord you’re operating within real-world constraints, not guesswork or emotion.

If needed, delegate the delivery.
Let a broker, lawyer, or CPA help package and present your proposal. They know the language of real estate, and they bring emotional distance to the table - which can help keep things smooth. But even if someone else delivers it, you own the strategy. That combo: clear math and a confident delivery…that is how you close a deal on your terms.

Protect your brewery’s margins before the ink dries

Know your numbers before you negotiate - and absolutely before you sign. This isn’t about being greedy or difficult. It’s about making sure the lease helps your brewery thrive instead of becoming a weight around its neck.

When you understand your total and year-to-year occupancy costs - and how they can escalate over time - you’re no longer negotiating from a place of guesswork. You’re protecting your future. Even if the landlord isn’t trying to take advantage of you, the lease might do it for them by default. That’s how so many breweries (and small businesses in general) end up locked into terms that seemed fine in Year 1 but become unsustainable by Year 3.

Don’t under-ask. Don’t over-commit. Know your numbers. Forecast your risk. And speak up. Because the only time you can fix a bad lease is before you sign it.