Tough Talk: What Restaurants Need to Know and How General Counsel Can Help

5 Min Read By Michael Krueger

Owning and operating a restaurant is difficult under the best circumstances. So, what do we consider owning and operating a restaurant impacted by COVID-19? Challenging, but not impossible. As general counsel to over a dozen restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area and Orange County, I have seen a lot of changes since the first shutdown orders came out in March.  The role of general counsel during this unprecedented time is to ask the tough questions. How will the restaurant survive if seating capacity is reduced to 50 or 25 percent long term? How long can the restaurant keep staffing levels? When will the restaurant be able to repay past due rent obligations? How can the restaurant negotiate its debts and lease obligations? Is bankruptcy an option? Should we expand? Here are a few legal issues my clients are facing and how we are navigating those issues:

The role of general counsel during this unprecedented time is to ask the tough questions.

1. Workforce. Restaurants have had…