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: Real Estate
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...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...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...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...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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