For more than two decades, the Pryor Cashman Restaurant, Food + Beverage Group has addressed the business structure, real estate, insurance, labor + employment, financing, taxes, IP, branding, and other needs of our clients in this highly specialized and nuanced industry. Whether counseling celebrity chefs, startups, or national, regional + metropolitan chains, we focus on the success and long-term growth of each business, never losing sight of the quality, creativity, and attention to detail that established their reputation for excellence.
On the Menu: What We Do
We help quick-service, casual dining, and fine-dining restaurants, as well as leading hospitality groups and food and beverage suppliers, organize and integrate the many moving parts of their operations. As our clients build their brands, we help them optimize and protect their intellectual property.
New and emerging restaurateurs especially seek our advice in establishing the solid business foundation and debt and equity financing necessary for growth. Additionally, we provide legal counsel to clients at all stages of their development, advising on issues relating to:
- Force majeure and insurance-related claims
- Formation and corporate governance
- Partnerships and other foundational matters
- Negotiating restaurant management agreements
- Corporate finance and capital raising through debt and securities offerings and private equity
- Franchisees, including handling disputes with franchisors and forming franchisee associations
- Labor, employment, and immigration
- Real estate, including leasing
- Mergers, acquisitions, sales, and joint ventures
- Commercial and IP litigation
- Creditors’ and debtors’ rights in bankruptcy
- Federal, state, and local tax issues related to income, sales, inventory, and other matters
Our firm has represented industry leaders and trendsetters, such as Starbucks and Sun Noodle, Organic Avenue, and some of the largest franchisees of Burger King, Arby’s, and Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Through our broad network of contacts in all facets of the industry, we facilitate essential business relationships, connecting our clients to investors, lenders, partners, and suppliers. For instance, we helped Briad Restaurant Group acquire Main Street Restaurant Group, forming the largest franchisee of T.G.I. Fridays with approximately 70 locations nationwide.
The Recipe for a Real Estate Footprint
Restaurant owners know the right location is critical to success. Our leasing attorneys have advised hundreds of clients regarding acquiring and leasing space; lease assignments; fixture, equipment, and leasehold financing; zoning, build-outs, and construction; and expansion and termination. We have represented:
- Eataly in transactions involving its 40,000+ square-foot Italian food emporium, including five restaurants, in New York City
- Lenny’s Group/Lenwich by Lenny’s in negotiating and securing leases and purchasing real estate for more than 20 deli locations throughout Manhattan; and in the capital raise for Lenny’s locations in South Korea
- Major Food Group (Carbone, The Grill, Sadelle’s, Torrisi, Parm, etc.) in leases in Little Italy, Greenwich Village, the Lower East Side, the Upper East Side, Brooklyn, and Yankee Stadium, along with other cities and countries
- Chef Marcus Samuelsson in opening two new outposts at John F. Kennedy International Airport
- Chef Cédric Vongerichten in opening Wayan in Nolita
We also pay close attention to the details that can make or break a location, protecting rights to land use + zoning, signage, parking, and open-air seating, and procuring, maintaining, and reinstating operating and entertainment licenses.
Serving the Business of People
People – front of the house employees, kitchen staff, and customers – are the heart of the service industry. While integral to success, they present significant challenges and potential liabilities. We help companies across the full spectrum of employment and human resources issues, from negotiating executive compensation terms and crafting non-competes to resolving labor disputes and workplace lawsuits, including wage and hour disputes and discrimination and harassment claims. Our Americans With Disabilities Act litigators regularly defend food-service businesses against alleged ADA violations and other regulatory claims.
Cooking Up Restaurant Brands
In the restaurant, food, and beverage industry, a strong brand is not simply a result of consistently delivering a top-quality product. Brand integrity is cultivated, optimized, and protected through sophisticated intellectual property strategies. Our IP attorneys have assisted numerous high-profile restaurants in establishing, leveraging, and enforcing their copyrights, trademarks, and trade dress rights. We were on the winning side of the original beverage wars, defeating Arizona Iced Tea’s copyright infringement claims against our client, SoBe. We continue to work with industry groups and pioneers of the craft.
Additionally, our firm’s long history as a leader in entertainment law and celebrity branding has drawn legendary chefs, famous restaurateurs, and other food industry personalities and icons to seek our support with everything from licensing, merchandising, and endorsements to filmed entertainment and book deals.
