I just finished reading the plea agreement regarding a liquor licensing attorney in Prince George’s County who pleaded guilty to bribery on Friday. The underlying facts were that this attorney made payments to a public official to secure his assistance in influencing liquor licensing decisions. The statement of facts contains verbatim quotes, demonstrating that either […]
Read more...Author: smorris
You Should Hire a Restaurant Real Estate Broker
We work with lots of clients who are thinking about opening their first restaurant, or who are in expansion mode. When I get one of these calls, among my first questions is “are you working with a broker?” If not, I always try to encourage them to call one of the many experienced restaurant real […]
Read more...Limiting the Personal Guaranty in Your Restaurant Lease
If you are getting ready to sign a restaurant lease, you are almost certainly being asked to provide the name of someone who will provide a personal guaranty of payment on the lease. This person, whether it be you yourself, or someone with whom you are associated, will be personally on the hook if the tenant (usually an […]
Read more...Prince George’s County Liquor Board Seeks 5 New Members, Cancels Upcoming Hearings
The Prince George’s County Liquor Board, which is already down to three members due to the resignation of its chairman (following a guilty plea in a DUI matter) and another member (following a bribery arrest) will get an entire new membership later this year. Pursuant to legislation passed in the recent 2017 Maryland General Assembly, […]
Read more...New Restaurant Location? Strongly Consider a New LLC.
I often say that opening a restaurant is like becoming a parent. It keeps you up late at night, it occupies most of your time and attention, it makes you worry whenever you leave it with someone else…. But like parenthood, restaurant ownership can also get easier over time. And, when it does, you may […]
Read more...Tough Market Makes a Good Restaurant Lease More Important than Ever
2017 has not been the easiest year for restaurants, particularly for sit down casual dining restaurants. Reports of store closures, missed earnings, and abandoned concepts have been a common occurrence this spring, as restaurants have tried to recover from its worst year since the recession. Even fast casual chains, which had been thought to be insulated […]
Read more...Big News: Private Liquor Stores May Be Coming to Montgomery County
As we continue our review of the 2017 Maryland legislative session, which ended last week, it is clear that, for those of us in Montgomery County, one of the most consequential – and overlooked – new laws relates to how hard liquor is sold in the County. For the first time since anyone can remember, […]
Read more...New Maryland Law to Cure Liquor Licensing Glitch
We wrote here last year about a glitch in Montgomery County liquor licensing laws that limited individuals to holding one beer & wine license in the county, whereas an individual could hold up to ten beer, wine & liquor licenses. This, of course, made little sense and caused any restaurant with more than one location […]
Read more...Can My Landlord Lease to One of My Competitors?
My family and I had dinner this past weekend at the newest location of a locally-based fast casual restaurant chain. It had a line nearly out the door and every table was full. After dinner we noticed that, in the same shopping center, was an existing restaurant serving the exact same type of food. It […]
Read more...How Long Does it Take to Get a Liquor License in Montgomery County?
Just about every day, we get a call from a restaurant owner (or aspiring one) who is interested in opening a restaurant here in Montgomery County, Maryland. One of the questions that we are almost always asked is “how long will it take to get a liquor license?” It is understandable that this is a […]
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