Two 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
Category Archives: News
Subscribe to News RSS FeedHow To Avoid Taxes From Your Restaurant LLC
Posted in Corporate Entity, Legislation, News, Recent Law TrendsFor 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
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
How To Spot Good Restaurant Investments
Posted in Acquisitions, Contracts, Franchises, Negotiation, News, Recent Law TrendsBy all accounts, 2013 should be a great year for the Texas restaurant industry. For just one example, click on this link, which is an article by Teresa Gubbins from austin.culturemap.com. According to the article: A report by the National Restaurant Association says that the Texas restaurant industry will lead the country in sales growth… 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
Happy Anniversary – 3 Years And Counting!
Posted in NewsHappy Anniversary! Three years ago, we started TexasRestaurantLaw.com. Even more amazing is that this month, we will reach our 75th article post. Over these three years, we have found our passion in delivering you interesting and well written articles to help guide you in your business and your legal needs. We answered many questions including:… Continue Reading
Put More Money in Your Pocket: Perform a Lease Audit
Posted in Contracts, Franchises, Litigation, Negotiation, News, Real EstateDid you know that you have a 90% chance of overpaying operating costs (CAM, Taxes and Insurance) under your lease, if you fail to check the calculation for accuracy. This comes from the December 2009 edition of Commercial Tenant’s Lease Insider. Many landlords do not take the time to reflect tenant-specific exclusions, caps, etc…. 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
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
Economic Outlook For 2010?
Posted in NewsPredicting the future is always hard, but the economic outlook for 2010 is absolutely anyone’s guess. With that in mind, I thought that I’d set out some of the differing statistics that I’ve found over the last few weeks and let you decide for yourself whether to believe the optimists or the naysayers. The Optimists… 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
How Effective Are Calorie Counting Laws?
Posted in Legislation, News, Recent Law TrendsAs more and more calorie menu labeling laws pop up across the country and the U.S. Senate considers a national law on the matter, the debate over their effectiveness continues. With the goal of reducing American obesity levels, the question remains: Do they really work? The answer depends on whom you ask. The Wall Street… 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
Immigration Survival For Restaurants: Top 5 Tips To Avoid Jail
Posted in Immigration, Litigation, News, Recent Law TrendsCan your business survive a sizable fine by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”)? Can you survive jail time for failing to adhere to immigration rules? If you answered no to either question, then take the following advice and implement it today. 1. Complete I-9 Forms. This may sound like a “no-brainer,” but it can… 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
Where There’s Smoke . . . You’re Not In Dallas
Posted in Alcohol, Legislation, News, Recent Law TrendsWe all know that familiar smell of combined stale beer and cigarettes that, until now, marked the relaxed atmosphere of an old fashioned honky-tonk or bar, but in Dallas, that is no more. At midnight on Friday, April 10, 2009, the latest of Dallas’ efforts to eliminate smoke from public buildings became effective. As reported… Continue Reading
Texas Legislature Says, “Trim the Fat” (Trans Fat, That Is)
Posted in Legislation, News, Recent Law TrendsBy: Matthew Sanderson With the support of the Texas Restaurant Association, the Texas legislature is “pressing for legislation that would phase in bans of trans fats in restaurant foods,” according to a recent Dallas Morning News article published on April 6, 2009 and found at this link. The two key proponents of the bills are… Continue Reading
Chili’s And Curves Team Up in Joint Marketing Campaign
Posted in NewsBy: Matthew Sanderson On April 7, 2009, the Triangle Business Journal posted an article, found at this link, showing that Chili’s and Curves are teaming up to “target casual diners who seek healthy fare.” Chili’s is operated by Brinker International (NYSE: EAT), which is a Dallas, Texas based operator of restaurant chains. According to the… Continue Reading
KFC Is “Hot” Over Flammable Products
Posted in Litigation, News, Recent Law TrendsBy: Matthew Sanderson In a suit filed in Federal District Court in early April, KFC alleged that “the popcorn chicken packages supplied by Paris Packaging of Paris, Texas, have all been pulled from all KFC locations following complaints that they were flammable,” according to an April 8, 2009 article from UPI.com. Click here for the… 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