Our founder and principal attorney, Sean Morris, was recently interviewed by Neil Tyra for his popular new podcast, The Law Entrepreneur. Take a listen here as Sean speaks to Neil about, among other things, why he decided to build a practice focused on the needs of restaurant owners — or, as Neil puts it, how […]
Read more...Category: Bar and Restaurant Law
12 Questions to Ask (and Answer) Before Signing Your Restaurant Lease
As I’ve written here before, perhaps the document that will have the greatest impact on the success of your restaurant will be your lease. It sets the terms of your relationship with your landlord, governs the manner in which you may use your space, and determines what you must pay – each and every month […]
Read more...Yes, Your Business Needs an Operating Agreement
Imagine this scenario: A couple of years ago you partnered up with a few associates and started a new restaurant business. Because you did not know much about the business, you opted to take a background role, with your contribution largely being financial. You trusted your partners, who had experience as chefs and restaurant managers, […]
Read more...The Facebook Trap: Social Media, Solicitation, and Securities Law
You have a great idea for a new business – it is a fantastic new restaurant concept that incorporates some of the hottest trends in the industry, with a new twist that is uniquely your own. You put together a business plan, determine how much money you will need to get it off the ground, […]
Read more...Last Call for Georgetown Liquor License Moratorium
Starting next week, for the first time in 27 years, restaurants in Georgetown will be able to apply for new liquor licenses. The District of Columbia’s Alcoholic Beverage Control today voted not to extend its decades-old moratorium on liquor licenses for restaurants, which had been set to expire on April 8. The moratorium was instituted in […]
Read more...Is Granting Equity to Early Backers of Your Business a Good Idea?
The New York Times had a terrific story this weekend on a matter I see all the time in my practice: entrepreneurs who hand out equity in their businesses at the startup stage, then years later want to buy those equity-holders out, but lack the resources to do so. The piece opens with the story […]
Read more...Is The End Near for Montgomery County’s Liquor Monopoly?
Montgomery County, our home jurisdiction, is the only county in the state of Maryland that exerts complete control over the distribution of alcoholic beverages. With few exceptions, every pint of beer, glass of wine, and drop of spirits consumed in the county passes through the hands of the County government on its way from producer to […]
Read more...Difficulty Obtaining a Liquor License Among Things that Doomed Taco Bell’s Fast Casual Concept
Taco Bell thought its concept — U.S. Taco Co. — could take on Chipotle and, failing that, at least give it a toe-hold in the rapidly growing fast casual dining market. But, after just one year of being open in Huntington Beach, California, its first and only outpost has closed. Among the problems facing the […]
Read more...DC Restaurant Owners Learn the Hard Way How Important a “Very Good Lease” Is.
A dispute with its landlord has caused the abrupt closure of a popular Columbia Heights restaurant. Apparently, the dispute was brought to a head when the landlord refused to sign off on the restaurant’s liquor license application, which is a requirement under DC law. Now the parties have sued (and counter-sued) each other in DC […]
Read more...Lawsuit: DC Waterfront Developers Trying to Drive Us Out of Business
In a federal lawsuit filed last month, the owners of two fish markets and a seafood deli located at the Maine Avenue waterfront in Southwest Washington, DC, have sued the developers of the massive “Wharf” project for violating their lease and trying to drive them out of business. As expected the lawsuit has gotten significant media attention, […]
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