Lease Agreements: Protecting Your Downside

What I love about restaurant owners and operators is their ability to see problems through and envision success. Whether it’s a new restaurant concept or a proven approach, operators always are excited about the opportunity to open and run a restaurant. Then the 50-page lease gets dropped in their lap. Most restaurateurs check to see if the rent, common area maintenance (CAM) charges and tenant improvement (TI) dollars are correct and leave the legalese to the attorneys. 

But just as you wouldn't trust all the details of running your restaurant to someone else, you must wade through the lease to be confident it protects you from undue competition and reduces risks that accompany a decision to close. While nobody goes into the restaurant business thinking about anything but success, we know closing is a possibility. A properly worded lease may limit your losses.

You Want to Be the One and OnlyOne of the first things to consider in a lease is an exclusive rights provision, which…