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...Category: Leasing
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...In Restaurant Sales, its You and Me and the Landlord Makes Three
When involved in a restaurant transaction, the parties (understandably) spend much time and effort on examining the health of the business and the terms of the deal itself. The buyer will, among other things, study the restaurant’s revenues and operating expenses, any potential liabilities, and the condition of the equipment involved. On the other side, […]
Read more...The Four Relationships that Can Make or Break Your Restaurant Business
The restaurant business, like almost all businesses, is about relationships. And, of course, the most important one you will have is with your customers. If you don’t preserve that relationship, you won’t have a business for very long. But there are other relationships that must be protected just as jealously, because if any of them […]
Read more...Don’t Even Think About Buying a Restaurant Without Answering These Four Questions.
For generations, owning and operating a restaurant has been a common dream for would-be entrepreneurs. Unlike many other businesses, most of us think we understand how restaurants operate (we all eat at restaurants, don’t we?), and there is a certain charm and allure to the idea of welcoming our friends and neighbors to a place […]
Read more...Three Common Mistakes to Avoid When Starting your Business
Let’s get one thing out of the way: when you are starting a business you are going to make mistakes — a million of them. That’s okay. It’s how we learn and grow, and it also keeps things interesting. But what’s not okay is when we make mistakes that are easily avoidable, and which can […]
Read more...What are Your Options? Negotiable or “Market Rate” Lease Renewal Provisions
In a changing real estate market, especially one with rising commercial property values and rental rates, whether you have a renewal option in your commercial lease and the terms of any such option can be critical. It is highly preferable to have an option provision that specifies the rate of any renewal, e.g. some set […]
Read more...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...Landlords Come and Go. It’s What Your Lease Says That Matters Most.
Commercial leases, like most contracts, are subject to interpretation. Clauses and terms that may seem clear at the time they are drafted can later become ambiguous, or subject to more than one understanding, especially when words on paper become applied to real life situations. Or the terms may be unclear on their face, and such […]
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 […]
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