Hospitality Law
Leases, franchise agreements, employment compliance, and the contracts that keep a restaurant or hotel running. Counsel for operators working on thin margins and tight timelines, grounded in how the business actually works.
The Practice
Hospitality runs on documents signed under pressure. The lease that anchors a location for ten years, the franchise agreement that sets the rules of the business, the vendor contracts that quietly shape food cost. Each is drafted by someone whose interests are not yours, and each carries terms that decide whether a margin survives the year.
Lawyers in this practice handle the transactional and business-side work that keeps an operation healthy. Negotiating the lease, structuring the franchise relationship, papering employment so wage and tip rules are followed, coordinating liquor licensing applications, and reviewing the supplier contracts that touch every plate. The work is practical and commercial, built around how restaurants and hotels actually operate.
The goal is straightforward. Get the foundational documents right so the business has room to run, and stay on call for the next location, renewal, or acquisition when it comes.
Why It Matters
For most restaurants and hotels, the lease is the single largest commitment and the hardest to exit. Rent escalations, build-out allowances, exclusivity, and assignment terms decide the economics for years. A careful review surfaces what is worth negotiating before signature.
Hospitality runs on thin margins, and a poorly worded vendor contract or an auto-renewing service agreement can erase the difference between a good month and a bad one. The documents have to protect the numbers that keep the doors open.
Tip pooling, overtime, scheduling, and worker classification carry real compliance consequences. Getting the employment documents and policies right keeps a high-turnover workforce on solid footing.
Franchise agreements are written by the franchisor and presented as final. Development schedules, territory, transfer rights, and renewal terms still carry room to negotiate, and a careful read shows where.
Liquor licenses, health permits, and zoning approvals sit on the critical path to opening. Handled as the application and compliance work they are, the paperwork moves on schedule instead of stalling a launch.
A lease signed badly costs money every month it stays in force. A franchise relationship structured loosely takes years to unwind. Getting the foundational documents right saves the next several locations.
Services
Nine service areas covering the transactional and business-side legal work most relevant to restaurants, hotels, and food service operators. Engagements are scoped to the matter, ongoing counsel is available for clients running multiple locations.
The lease shapes the economics of a location for years. Lawyers negotiate and review restaurant and hotel leases on the operator's side: rent and escalations, build-out allowances, exclusivity, assignment, and the terms that govern leaving.
Franchise documents set the rules of the business. Lawyers review franchise agreements and disclosure documents on the operator's side and structure multi-unit area development arrangements so the growth plan holds together.
A hospitality workforce moves fast, and the wage rules are strict. Lawyers draft employment agreements, handbooks, and policies covering tip pooling, wage and hour compliance, scheduling, and worker classification.
Licenses and permits sit on the critical path to opening. Lawyers handle the liquor license applications, health and operating permits, and the compliance documentation that keeps a venue licensed and on schedule.
Food cost and service quality ride on the supplier agreements. Lawyers review the vendor contracts, distribution agreements, equipment leases, and service arrangements that quietly allocate cost and risk across the operation.
How a restaurant group or hotel operation is held shapes liability, tax, and the path to growth. Lawyers form the entities that isolate each location and match the way the business is owned and operated.
Hotels and food service operations often run on management contracts. Lawyers review and structure these agreements on the owner's or operator's side: fees, performance terms, scope of authority, and the terms for ending the arrangement.
Beyond the lease, an operation accumulates occupancy and property arrangements. Lawyers handle purchase agreements, ground leases, subleases, and the property documents that support a growing footprint, coordinating with outside title and escrow agents.
Restaurant groups and hotel operators grow and change hands. Lawyers handle business acquisitions and sales, portfolio deals, and succession planning, all on the transactional and business side.
Who We Work With
Leases, vendor contracts, employment documents, and entity structuring for single locations and growing groups.
Management agreements, property documents, vendor contracts, and the business-side counsel that keeps a property running.
Management contracts, service agreements, employment compliance, and the documents that govern operating someone else's kitchen.
Franchise agreement review, multi-unit development deals, transfer terms, and the entity structuring that supports expansion.
Client contracts, vendor arrangements, employment documents, and the business-side counsel that fits a project-based operation.
Liquor licensing, leases, employment compliance, and the contracts that keep a venue licensed and operating cleanly.
How It Works
Most engagements start with a single lease, contract, or location. The relationship grows from there, or doesn't, depending on what you need.
01
Your lawyer learns the concept, the location, the ownership goals, and what's on the table. This is the conversation that shapes the structure.
45-60 minutes
02
Lawyers review the lease or franchise agreement on the table, or draft the documents you need. Plain-English summary of the risks and the terms worth negotiating.
3-7 business days
03
Lawyers handle the back-and-forth with the landlord's or franchisor's counsel, or sit beside you while you negotiate. You keep the relationship; the lawyer holds the legal line.
Varies by deal
04
Final review, signature, licensing applications, and the entity and permit filings the opening requires. Documents land in your MyRelevant portal.
1-3 business days
05
Most hospitality clients come back. Lawyers stay on call for the next location, the lease renewal, the vendor contract that needs revisiting, and the acquisition down the road.
Ongoing
Client Portal
MyRelevant is the client portal for managing the legal side of a hospitality business. Documents in one place, renewal alerts before lease and franchise terms expire, direct messaging with your lawyer, and the audit trail every operator eventually wishes they had.
Every lease, franchise agreement, and vendor contract in one place. Searchable, dated, and accessible from anywhere.
Automatic alerts before lease terms expire, franchise agreements auto-renew, or licensing deadlines arrive.
Send a contract for a quick read without scheduling a meeting. Most reviews come back in two to three business days.
Leases, ownership documents, and sensitive correspondence stored with the security a growing business requires.
Message your lawyer directly through the portal — direct answers without waiting on callbacks.
Active deals, pending signatures, and recent closings tracked in one view so nothing falls through.
Frequently Asked
For any meaningful location, yes. The lease is usually the largest and longest commitment a restaurant makes, and the rent escalations, build-out allowances, exclusivity, and assignment terms all carry risk if handled loosely. A lawyer's involvement is modest against the size of the commitment.
Yes, on the operator's side. Franchise agreements and disclosure documents are drafted by the franchisor and presented as final, but the development schedule, territory, transfer rights, and renewal terms still carry room to negotiate. A careful review shows you where.
Lawyers draft the employment agreements, handbooks, and policies that cover tip pooling, wage and hour rules, scheduling, and worker classification. Getting these documents right keeps a high-turnover workforce on solid footing and the business in compliance.
Yes, as application and compliance work. Lawyers handle the liquor license applications, health and operating permits, license transfers, and the compliance documentation that keeps a venue licensed. The goal is to keep the paperwork on schedule so it doesn't delay an opening.
It depends on how the locations are owned, your liability concerns, and your growth plans. Common approaches use operating and holding entities to isolate each location. Your lawyer walks through the tradeoffs and sets up the structure that fits.
Yes. Food cost and service quality ride on these agreements, and an auto-renewing service contract or a poorly worded supplier deal can quietly erase a margin. Lawyers review the pricing, term, and renewal terms and flag what's worth changing.
Yes. Lawyers handle business acquisitions and sales, portfolio and multi-unit deals, diligence, and succession planning, all on the transactional and business side.
Related Services
Next Steps
Schedule a confidential consultation. The first call is a conversation about the lease, franchise, or deal in front of you, how it's typically structured, and what's worth getting right before you sign.
State Disclosures
Virginia: Legal services in Virginia are provided by independently owned and operated Virginia law firms doing business as Relevant Law. The responsible licensed Virginia lawyer and office address for each Virginia location are listed on that location's office page.
Washington: The Supreme Court of Washington does not recognize specialties in the practice of law, and no representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.
Relevant Law offices are independently owned and operated by licensed attorneys.