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Category Archives: Corporate Entity

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The Top 7 Things To Consider Before Buying A Restaurant

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Acquisitions, Alcohol, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Employment, Intellectual Property, Liability, Litigation, Real Estate

There are so many things to consider when buying a restaurant that we decided to break that list down to just seven issues. If you only look at these issues, you should avoid most of the big hazards when you buy your next restaurant. Now, this assumes that you have some idea of the restaurant… Continue Reading

Top Ten Tax Mistakes for Restaurant Owners

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Corporate Entity, Employees & Waitstaff, Franchises, Liability, Litigation, Real Estate, Recent Law Trends

We all know how important restaurant taxes are to restaurant owners. Last week, our own tax counsel, David Gair, outlined his Top Ten Tax Mistakes for Restaurant Owner on TexasTaxTalk.com, so TexasRestaurantLaw.com decided to share it as well. Here is the list in its entirety: Employee Classification – Misclassifying workers as independent contractors and not… Continue Reading

How To Deal With Restaurant Partner Disputes

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Commentary, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, Litigation, Negotiation

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

How To Avoid Taxes From Your Restaurant LLC

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Corporate Entity, Legislation, News, Recent Law Trends

For years, I have recommended that all restaurants should be operated as limited liability companies – that is no more! Recent tax changes have now made LLCs much less attractive. Instead, we now suggest that our restaurant clients should consider forming “S-corporations,” except in rare instances. See below for the details and for a way… Continue Reading

The Absolutely Essential Issues In A Restaurant Lease

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Acquisitions, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, Litigation, Negotiation, Real Estate

Leasing is a big issue for restaurants. Almost all restaurants at least start out leasing their space. Often, restaurants are required to lease their space to capture the prime locations of a given area. For these reasons and many more, it is vital for restaurant owners to pay close attention to leasing terms. The following… Continue Reading

5 Top Strategies For Protecting Your Restaurant And Personal Assets

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Contracts, Corporate Entity, Liability, Litigation

How safe are the assets in your restaurants? Are you personally liable for your restaurant’s liabilities? These are two of the most common questions we get from our restaurant owner clients, so we thought we would share five of the top strategies we use to shield our restaurant owners from liabilities at their restaurants, which… Continue Reading

To Partner Or Not To Partner: Top Things To Consider Before Bringing On A Restaurant Partner

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Acquisitions, Corporate Entity, Franchising, Litigation, Recent Law Trends

Many of my clients think that partners and shared ownership are great. They are right, to a point, but there are often times that partners are more a pain than a benefit. With that in mind, I thought I’d share some of the benefits and drawbacks of partnering your restaurant business. Benefits of A Restaurant… Continue Reading

5 Ways to Avoid Costs of Acquiring Restaurants

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Acquisitions, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Negotiation, Real Estate, Vendors

All too often the margins of restaurant acquisition require stringent cost control. To help, here are five things to keep those costs low when considering the purchase of a restaurant: 1. Assemble Your Team – It’s hard to decide when to get your team of counselors (like attorneys, accountants, appraisers) involved in a deal. If… Continue Reading

Partnership Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Acquisitions, Competition, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Real Estate, Vendors

Nearly anyone who has been in business either knows of or at least has heard of the pitfalls of partnerships. However, a lot of people don’t know that you can be partners with someone and not even know it. You might say, “Funny lawyer. Who cares?” But you should care, and here’s why. Partnerships make… Continue Reading

Is Your Restaurant Business Down? 5 Things Not To Do

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Contracts, Corporate Entity, Employment, Franchises, Litigation, Negotiation, Real Estate, Recent Law Trends, Vendors

It’s no secret that many restaurants are suffering from the current recession, which is hopefully going to end soon. As a result, many restaurant owners are faced with the dilemma of “who to pay” when there’s not enough funds to pay everyone. In situations like these, it’s easy to make a misstep. With that in… Continue Reading

5 Things Your Restaurant Insurance Won’t Protect You From

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Contracts, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Litigation, Negotiation, Vendors

We all know that insurance is the best protection from most forms of liability in a restaurant. However, there are a variety of things that insurance doesn’t protect against. Here are five things often omitted from insurance coverage, and some solutions to this issue. 1. Creditors In General – Creditors come in a variety of… Continue Reading

How To Turn Your Competitors Into Assets

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Acquisitions, Commentary, Competition, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Negotiation, Vendors

The 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

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Acquisitions, Alcohol, Commentary, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Employment, Franchises, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Legislation, Litigation, Negotiation, News, Recent Law Trends, Vendors

  We 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 Joint Ventures Are Like The Grinch

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Acquisitions, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Litigation, Negotiation

Since we are right in the middle of the holiday season, I thought I’d discuss the insidious nature of joint ventures and compare them to Dr. Seuss’s mean ol’ Grinch. Many people are astounded when I explain the many risks involved in joint ventures, and like the Grinch, they are to be avoided whenever possible…. Continue Reading

The Biggest Contract Mistake & How To Avoid It

By Matthew Sanderson on Posted in Acquisitions, Alcohol, Commentary, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Litigation, Negotiation, Recent Law Trends, Vendors

The 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