There are many motivations for restaurant creation and investment. However, these different desires can lead to conflict, so how are restaurant operators, owners, and investors supposed to resolve these conflicts? This post answers that question, and it gives a game plan to operators, owners, and investors to deal with these inevitable conflicts. Step One: Avoid… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Commentary
Subscribe to Commentary RSS FeedSugar And Horses: How To Deal With Restaurant Supply Issues?
Posted in Commentary, Liability, Litigation, Negotiation, News, Recent Law Trends, VendorsTwo recent news stories present the issue of how restaurants should deal with supply issues. The first story is the infamous horse meat scandal that has plagued Burger King in the United Kingdom since January. Click here for that story. The second story appeared in today’s Wall Street Journal. It deals with the fact that… Continue Reading
Ouch! The Payroll Tax Takes Its Toll!
Posted in Commentary, Legislation, News, Recent Law TrendsAs many of you know, the payroll tax cuts recently expired, which reduced 2% of consumers’ take-home pay. That recently caused many retailers, including restaurants, to scale back prior expectations for revenue this year. Recall that in January in this article (click here to see it), we discussed the great outlook for restaurants for 2013… Continue Reading
The Changing Nature Of Restaurant Real Estate
Posted in Acquisitions, Commentary, Franchises, Franchising, News, Real EstateFor those familiar with the International Convention of Shopping Centers (a/k/a “ICSC”), you probably received your copy of Shopping Centers Today (“SCT”), which is the monthly magazine that they publish on national real estate. For those who don’t know, ICSC connects nearly all retail operators, landlords, and brokers who are involved in real estate, and… Continue Reading
When To Terminate A Restaurant Transaction
Posted in Acquisitions, Commentary, Competition, Contracts, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, Litigation, NegotiationRestaurant transactions are similar to the old Kenny Rogers song, The Gambler – “You’ve got to know when to walk away, and know when to run!” Perspective is so important in general, and in restaurant transactions, you must know when to move forward on deals and when to kill them. But how do you determine… Continue Reading
Biggest Legal Causes Of Restaurant Failures
Posted in Acquisitions, Commentary, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, Litigation, Negotiation, Real Estate, Recent Law TrendsJust this week, two of my favorite restaurants in Dallas closed operations. This led me to consider the biggest issues I have seen that factored into a troubled restaurant. A few of these may not be a surprise, but you may be shocked at others. Consider this list of top legal reasons why restaurants fail:… Continue Reading
Can An Email Bind Your Restaurant Like A Contract?
Posted in Acquisitions, Commentary, Contracts, Employees & Waitstaff, Liability, Litigation, Negotiation, Recent Law Trends, VendorsWe all think of email as a convenience. The same is true for text messages. These are just easy ways to communicate. They don’t really mean anything. Right? Wrong! Email and text messages are some of the most dangerous tools created. They are powerful. They are permanent. And in Texas, they are binding. Don’t believe… Continue Reading
The Top 5 Considerations Before Buying A Restaurant
Posted in Acquisitions, Commentary, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, NegotiationDespite the “Great Recession”, the restaurant industry continues to thrive. One of the latest great examples of this is the expansion of Asian cuisine. For instance, a new franchise concept called Mama Fu’s is set to open 14 new restaurants in the Dallas area alone over the next several years, according to this article from… Continue Reading
What To Know About Texas Alcohol Permits: An Industry Perspective
Posted in Alcohol, Commentary, Competition, Legislation, Liability, Negotiation, News, VendorsObtaining and dealing with alcoholic beverage permits requires a lot of time and effort, and it can be full of legal pitfalls as well. Sometimes you need a lawyer, but often an outside alcohol permit company can be more cost effective. As one example, we recently interviewed Nancy Scott, with Joe LaBarba Permit Service in… Continue Reading
Is Your Restaurant Business Down? 5 Things That May Help
Posted in Commentary, Competition, Franchises, Litigation, Negotiation, Real Estate, VendorsIn our last post, we wrote about 5 Things Not To Do when your restaurant business is down. This week, we’re talking about 5 Things That May Help in the event that you have more people to pay than funds to pay with. Therefore, take it from some restaurant lawyers that have seen many mistakes,… Continue Reading
New York To Ban Salt In Restaurants – REALLY?!?!
Posted in Commentary, Legislation, News, Recent Law TrendsI try to avoid ranting, at least in public, but I’m going to give in to my inner four-year-old for a moment for the benefit of your entertainment. A recent article on LoweringTheBar.com found at this link provides details of an actual bill in New York to ban the use of salt in restaurants. Really!?… Continue Reading
How To Turn Your Competitors Into Assets
Posted in Acquisitions, Commentary, Competition, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Negotiation, VendorsThe start of a new year often reminds us to try new things. I suggest that this year you try turning your competitors into assets. There are a variety of ways to do this, but this post will show one unique and forgotten strategy of achieving this goal. If You Can’t Beat’em, Join ‘Em Believe… Continue Reading
The Best of TexasRestaurantLaw.com 2009
Posted in Acquisitions, Alcohol, Commentary, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Employment, Franchises, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Legislation, Litigation, Negotiation, News, Recent Law Trends, VendorsWe couldn’t close out the year without a “Best of 2009″! Here’s the best TexasRestaurantLaw.com content of the year, based on your enthusiasm via comments, links, and retweets. We thank you all for your continued support! Let’s get started: Recent Nutrition Law Trends – This will likely be a continued source of legislation on… Continue Reading
How A Late Night Email Could Put You In Jail
Posted in Commentary, Employment, Litigation, News, Recent Law Trends, VendorsNo matter what industry you are in, many of us are responsible for hundreds of emails per day. Each of those emails can become permanent records of what you are thinking, doing, or planning. Email errors can sometimes cause only minor disagreements, for which you can apologize and move on. However, in the most severe… Continue Reading
The Biggest Contract Mistake & How To Avoid It
Posted in Acquisitions, Alcohol, Commentary, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Litigation, Negotiation, Recent Law Trends, VendorsThe ugly truth is that people make mistakes every day when they sign contracts for their companies. What’s worse is that many people don’t even realize that they are making a mistake. This particular mistake can cost your company thousands of dollars in legal fees. This mistake can cost you personally in legal fees and… Continue Reading
Is a Celebrity Spokesperson the Right Fit For Your Restaurant?
Posted in Commentary, Contracts, Franchises, Recent Law TrendsCelebrity spokespeople often increase retail brand awareness and, thus, boost sales. However, the extent of this sales boost may come as a surprise. Consider, for example, Troy Aikman’s sponsorship of the Wingstop restaurant group. According to the Dallas Business Journal, Wingstop reported 23 consecutive quarters of same-store sales increases since Aikman first appeared as a… Continue Reading
Could Your Salary Get Slashed by the Compensation Czar?
Posted in Commentary, Legislation, News, Recent Law TrendsIn response to criticism regarding bonus pay for executive officials of companies receiving government pay-outs, the Obama administration recently appointed Kenneth Feinberg to regulate the pay of 175 top executives at seven companies receiving levels of government TARP funds not offered to other institutions. Feinberg, who is being referred to as the “Compensation Czar,” is… Continue Reading
Restaurant Industry’s Outlook Finally Improving
Posted in Commentary, NewsThe National Restaurant Association (NRA) released its Restaurant Improvement Index (RPI) stats for April 2009. You can find the complete statistical report on the NRA’s website by following this link. The NRA explains, “The Restaurant Performance Index is constructed so that the health of the restaurant industry is measured in relation to a steady-state level… Continue Reading
Texas Legislature Leaves Restaurant Industry Alone
Posted in Alcohol, Commentary, Immigration, Legislation, News, Recent Law TrendsEveryone in the restaurant industry should know what new laws affect them. This last legislative session addressed a variety of laws from immigration to fat and smoke, and the this article provides those results. The latest session of the Texas Legislature ended on June 1, 2009. Comprising the 81st Session of the Legislature, Texas lawmakers… Continue Reading
Smoke & Fat: What Texas Restaurants Need to Know in ‘09
Posted in Commentary, Legislation, News, Recent Law TrendsLaws in Texas are changing about what restaurants serve and what they allow from their patrons. Understanding of these trends now could be the difference between prosperity and destruction for Texas restaurants in the coming years. Smoke As reported here several weeks ago in “Where There’s Smoke . . . You’re Not In Dallas ”… Continue Reading
Fast Food Deliverance – NOT
Posted in Commentary, Franchises, NewsWith the global recession looming in everyone’s mind, many have sought fast food as a haven. Indeed, interest in franchising is up as an alternative to finding work due to unemployment. Further, until just recently, fast food stocks outperformed many others. However, as reported in today’s Wall Street Journal, “Burger King’s weak March sales report… Continue Reading
Bad Economy Hits Restaurants in Texas
Posted in Commentary, NewsBy Matthew M. Sanderson As most of us know all too well, the global economic downturn has hit everyone, and based on a recent article by the Dallas Morning News, found at this link, restaurants that offer alcohol are hurting, too. According to the article, “For 2008, the number of restaurants, bars and liquor stores… Continue Reading