Attorney for Restaurants in New York City

How We Help Restaurant Operators

• Wage and Hour Claims

  Wage litigation is the most common serious legal threat to a New York restaurant. Tip credit compliance, spread of hours pay, uniform maintenance, wage notices, and tip pooling rules produce claims that are easy for a plaintiff to prove and expensive to defend, with liquidated damages and attorney fees attached. See restaurant wage and hour claims.

• Fast Food Scheduling and Just Cause Discharge

  Fast food employers in New York City operate under Fair Workweek scheduling requirements and a just cause standard for discharge that does not apply to any other private industry in the city. See Fair Workweek and just cause.

• Buying and Selling a Restaurant

  Restaurant transactions turn on the lease assignment, the liquor license transfer, the tax bulk sale notice, and the equipment nobody actually owns. See buying and selling a restaurant.

• Partner Disputes

  Restaurants are frequently owned by a chef, an investor, and a friend who put in money without documentation. When the relationship fails, the operating agreement, or its absence, decides everything. See restaurant partnership and LLC disputes.

• Vendor, Distributor, and Equipment Disputes

  Food distributor credit accounts, exclusive beverage agreements, equipment leases, and the personal guaranties buried in each. See vendor and supplier disputes.

• Health Department Violations and Grading

  Inspection points, letter grades, hearings at the OATH Health Tribunal, and closure orders. See health department violations.

• Delivery Platforms

  Commission caps, withheld payouts, chargebacks, unauthorized listings, and the contract terms that make a platform dispute hard to win. See delivery app disputes.

• Franchising

  Buying a franchise, complying with New York's franchise registration law, and disputes with franchisors over territory, transfer, renewal, and termination. See restaurant franchise matters.

Leases: The Document That Decides Everything

The lease is the most valuable and most dangerous asset a restaurant has. Rent, escalations, and additional rent determine viability. The permitted use clause, venting rights, and gas and electrical capacity determine whether the concept can even operate. The assignment clause determines whether the business can ever be sold. The good guy guaranty determines what the owner personally owes when it ends. Our detailed page on restaurant leases in New York City covers negotiation and disputes, and see also commercial eviction, commercial lease disputes, and personal guaranty enforcement.

Licensing and Permits

A New York City restaurant typically needs a Department of Health permit, a certificate of occupancy consistent with its use, a food protection certificate on premises, and, if it serves alcohol, a State Liquor Authority license subject to the 500-foot and 200-foot rules and community board review. Sidewalk cafe and roadway dining participation, sign permits, gas authorization, and fire suppression inspections follow. Our page on liquor licensing addresses the SLA process in detail, and restaurant attorneys gives a general overview of the practice.

Formation and Structure

Most New York restaurants should operate through an entity with a real operating agreement, and many operate through a single member LLC formed online with no agreement at all. The structure matters when a partner leaves, when a claim exceeds insurance, when the liquor license needs to reflect ownership accurately, and when the business is sold. Separating the operating entity from an entity that holds the liquor license or the lease can be appropriate, but only if the arrangement is documented and respected. See business formation, LLC operating agreements, and piercing the corporate veil.

Employment Beyond Wages

Restaurants face harassment and discrimination claims under the New York City Human Rights Law, which is broader than federal law and applies to employers with as few as four employees, with no minimum for gender-based harassment claims. New York requires annual sexual harassment prevention training and a written policy. Immigration compliance, background checks, and the City's restrictions on inquiring about criminal history and salary history all apply. See sexual harassment claims and employment discrimination.

Brand and Intellectual Property

A restaurant's name, logo, and distinctive interior are assets worth protecting, and worth clearing before a sign goes up. Trademark clearance before opening avoids a rebrand two years in. Trade dress protection can reach a distinctive look and feel. Menu descriptions, photographs, and recipes each have different protection. See trademark counsel, trade dress enforcement, and defamatory reviews.

Catering and Events

Restaurants that cater, and venues that host events, operate under a different set of contracts, with deposit forfeiture, force majeure, insurance, and indemnity terms that determine who absorbs a cancellation. See caterer and venue disputes.

Talk to a Restaurant Attorney in New York City

Most restaurant legal problems have a window in which they are manageable and a point after which they are not. A wage complaint answered properly, a lease renewal negotiated before the option lapses, an operating agreement signed while the partners still get along, a health violation contested at the hearing rather than paid by default: each of these costs a fraction of the alternative. We represent restaurants across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.

Call the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin at 212-233-1233 for a consultation.

You can contact us by phone at 212-233-1233 or by email at [email protected].