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 […]
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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 […]
Read more...PRESS RELEASE: The Morris Law Firm Achieves Unanimous Jury Verdict on Behalf of Client Mezeh Mediterranean Grill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Bethesda, MD) — On January 19, 2017, a federal jury in Maryland returned a verdict in favor of Mezeh Mediterranean Grill on trademark infringement and unfair competition claims brought by one of its larger competitors. The lawsuit, brought by Cava Group, Inc., claimed that Mezeh’s logo unfairly infringed on one of Cava’s […]
Read more...A Hidden Danger in Lease Assignments and Restaurant Sales
We have written here before about important things to consider when purchasing a restaurant, and we have also written about exclusivity provisions in restaurant leases. A recent deal we were working on, however, has highlighted how those two topics work together – and demonstrated a hidden danger for restaurant purchasers that can be hidden in […]
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 Morris Law Firm’s Founder Featured in the Washington Lawyer’s Issue on Restaurant Law
Demonstrating the critical importance and growing complexity of the legal issues surrounding restaurants, the Washington Lawyer dedicated its September 2016 issue to the intersection of the restaurant business and the law. The cover story was entitled Behind the Kitchen Door and featured interviews with local restaurateurs, including celebrity chef Mike Isabella, and our founder, Sean Morris. […]
Read more...Bad Agreements with Bad Actors: A Few Words on Contracts
Contracts are a necessary element of business. They form the relationships and set the expectations on which we all rely as businesspeople. But, at the end of the day, a contract is nothing more than a promise. And a promise, as we all know, is only as good as the person who makes it. When […]
Read more...Hooters Waves White Flag: Will Voluntarily Close Rather than Face Revocation
There are some battles that are just not worth fighting, apparently. For the Rockville, Maryland Hooters restaurant that was charged with overserving the drunk driver who killed Montgomery County police officer Noah Leotta late last year, that would include the battle to save their liquor license. The restaurant faced a show cause hearing before the […]
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...Client Alert: Minimum Wage Increases in Maryland and DC
This post is to remind all clients or interested business people reading this that, effective this past Friday, July 1, 2016, the hourly minimum wage in Maryland and the District of Columbia has increased as follows: Maryland: Statewide. The minimum wage for regular hourly employees is now $8.75 per hour. It had been $8.25 and […]
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