Another KY distillery faces liens over unpaid debt. This one hasn’t opened yet
A Kentucky distillery set to open later this month is already facing financial trouble.
Multiple contractors allege Luca Mariano Distillery, in Danville, owes at least $3.8 million for construction of the distillery’s building, according to a lawsuit and multiple liens against the company.
The distillery announced Tuesday it would have a grand opening June 13 for its 553-acre “farm-to-bottle” estate at 128 Letton Drive, which features historic landmarks including the oldest stone house in Kentucky and Prohibition-era tunnels.
It’s unclear if the legal actions, filed in recent months, will have any effect on the grand opening.
Luca Mariano is at least the third new distillery in Kentucky to face claims of unpaid debt in recent months.
A lien for $1.7 million was filed last month against Whiskey House of Kentucky in Elizabethtown. The issues are expected to be resolved quickly, said Whiskey House CEO David Mandell.
And in April, Garrard County Distillery, in Lancaster, was placed in receivership amid $2.2 million in liens. In all, Truist Bank claims Garrard County owes it more than $26 million.
Luca Mariano Distillery was founded by Francesco S. Viola, who “envisioned creating a “Napa Valley of bourbon” in Central Kentucky. Viola said in a news release Tuesday that his distillery has an 18-inch column still with the capacity to produce 18,000 barrels annually.
In addition to a grand opening event, the distillery announced Tuesday it had entered into a new partnership with Summit Investments of Denver, which specializes in distressed debt acquisitions.
Viola did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Financial problems with contractors
Construction contractor Keystone Industrial was hired to work on Luca Mariano in 2022 and, despite finishing the work earlier this year, has not yet been paid in full, according to a lawsuit filed April 23 against the distillery and its lenders, including Truist Bank, SummitBridge and Farm Credit Mid-America.
According to the filing, Keystone, of Junction City, was first hired as a subcontractor by general contractor Doss & Horky, of Danville, then hired directly by Luca Mariano’s parent company, LMD.
In all, Keystone claims it’s owed more than $1.3 million.
Multiple liens filed in Boyle County
Keystone also filed a lien — a claim against real property for unpaid debts — in Boyle County against Luca Mariano for nearly $1.3 million.
And it’s not the only one: Court records show at least six other liens have been filed against the distillery, including one in December 2024 by Schardein Mechanical Contractors of Louisville for more than $530,000.
Doss & Horky also says in the lawsuit the distillery owes them more than $2 million for unpaid work.
Doss & Horky filed a lien in January for that amount of unpaid labor, material and supplies.
Both contractors are asking the court to foreclose on the property and sell it to satisfy the debts owed to them.
Claims about Truist
Keystone also claims that Truist, a bank that loaned Luca Mariano at least $18 million, colluded with the distillery to misrepresent its lien rights.
In a now-deleted comment posted Tuesday on the distillery’s Facebook page, distillery owner Viola appeared to blame Truist for financial difficulties: “Truist came in hot to us and to the industry, then to back out a few months later,” he wrote. “Truist put us and many other distilleries through hell. They put many into bankruptcy and forced them out of business.”
