Pizza Today - March 2022 - 46
be required. This in turn allows your
contractor to be able to put together
an accurate bid for the project.
At this stage, it is important to
be able to " sell " the officials on the
value of your restaurant and how it
will contribute to the neighborhood
and city overall by bringing jobs,
additional tax revenue and attracting
new residents and visitors, etc. Some
jurisdictions want to attract new
businesses; unfortunately, some others
seem to not care all that much.
Oftentimes, the bureaucracy
is slow-moving and can create
high barriers to entry. If this is the
case in your project, it can be helpful
to hire a land-use attorney who can
negotiate with officials to reduce
some of the more arduous requirements
and speed up the process. The
attorney can even challenge the
official's interpretation of the code.
For example, in my own restaurant,
the code said that certain types of
government reviews of the project
were only required if there was a
" change of use " in the building. As
I was remodeling an existing restaurant,
there was no change of use,
however, a county official tried to say
that a " change in cuisine " was considered
a change of use. This misinterpretation
would have cost my business
hundreds of thousands of dollars
and months if not years of delays.
However, after hiring outside counsel
and involving my local elected official
to put pressure on the various county
departments, they approved our plans
and allowed us to open immediately.
Like with contractors, hiring an
attorney who has relationships with
the city officials is important, as they
will know how to work with them
efficiently. Further, it can also be
helpful to involve your elected official's
office if the jurisdiction is being
46 / PIZZATODAY.COM / MARCH 2022
difficult, as they can place political
pressure on bureaucrats.
Once an entrepreneur is finally
able to obtain the appropriate
permits and licenses, the two most
common regulatory issues operators
face are with their local health
department and with state and federal
employee laws.
Once your plans are approved,
you must submit these plans to the
local health department to obtain a
restaurant permit. Again, if your contractor
and architect have designed
restaurants previously, they will know
the various requirements that your
particular jurisdiction has. Like with
the building department, it may be
helpful to schedule a pre-application
meeting with the health department
to ensure your plans can meet their
requirements.
Even if you have the cleanest
kitchen in town, just about every
operator's heart sinks when a health
inspector walks into their restaurant.
Health department regulations can
vary widely and enforcement can
seem to be subjective based on which
inspector shows up at your restaurant.
Getting to know your local inspector
can be very helpful, because you then
know what their points of emphasis
are in their inspection and can train
your employees accordingly. For
example, at one of my restaurants, the
inspector always wants our dishes to
be stacked and stored a certain way,
so we train our employees to do it
that particular way.
Employee labor and workplace
safety laws are of vital importance
in the restaurant industry.
First, it is important to create an
employee handbook that creates
various policies and procedures,
including, but not limited to, safety,
anti-harassment, time-keeping, dress
code, ownership of tips and drug and
alcohol policies. This is the ultimate
guidebook for employee standards of
behavior and will be extremely valuable
when a dispute arises with an
employee. It is highly recommended
to work with a labor attorney to
create an employee handbook, as the
handbook should be tailored to state
and federal regulations that are
updated frequently by various agencies.
Your worker's compensation
insurance carrier may also have templates
for workplace safety policies
that you can use.
Additionally, laws related to minimum
wage, overtime and ownership
of tips are extremely important with
which to be familiar. Businesses are
often fined hefty penalties for failing
to pay their employees minimum
wage or in accordance with a payroll
schedule, improperly distributing
credit card or cash tips, or simply
failing to keep timecards and other
employee records. Again, working
with a competent labor attorney will
help you craft policies that are compliant
with state and federal laws.
These are just a few of the regulatory
issues that with which restaurants
can be faced. Working with
competent attorneys who are well
versed in land use, labor and corporate
governance is a worthy investment
to help the business run
efficiently, avoid costly audits and
fines and ultimately give entrepreneurs
the freedom to focus on operations
and not regulation. n
THOMAS REINHARD is a Seattlebased
business attorney and a co-owner of
Cascadia Pizza Co.
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - March 2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - March 2022
Vital Restaurant Reports
Commentary
Digital
Conversation
Mike's Monthly Tip
Man on the Street
Building Blocks
Tony's Trending Recipe
Knead to Know
Destinations
Nurturing Young Talent
Six Money Savers
Regulatory Red Tape
Operating Hours
Solid Slice Sales
Trending Tavern Style
Southeast Asian Fusion
Pasta for Profits
Hot Topping: Chorizo
Valuation of the Biz
Transferring Ownership
The Spinoff Pizzeria
Employee Morale
Go on the Offensive at Pizza Expo
On the Road: Triple Jay's Pizza, Atlanta, Georgia
Product Showcase
Pizza Today Yellow Pages
The Marketplace
Expo Spotlight
Pizza Today - March 2022 - CT1
Pizza Today - March 2022 - CT2
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Vital Restaurant Reports
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Cover2
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Commentary
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 4
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 5
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 6
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 7
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Digital
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 9
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Conversation
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 11
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Mike's Monthly Tip
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 13
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Man on the Street
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 15
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Building Blocks
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 17
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Tony's Trending Recipe
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 19
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Knead to Know
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 21
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 22
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 23
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Destinations
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 25
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 26
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 27
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 28
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 29
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 30
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 31
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 32
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 33
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Nurturing Young Talent
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 34A
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 34B
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 35
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 36
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 37
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 38
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 39
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Six Money Savers
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 41
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 42
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 43
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Regulatory Red Tape
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 45
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 46
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 47
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Operating Hours
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 49
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 50
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 50A
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 50B
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG1
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG2
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG3
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG4
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG5
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG6
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG7
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG8
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG9
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG10
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG11
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG12
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG13
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG14
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG15
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG16
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG17
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG18
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG19
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG20
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG21
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG22
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG23
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG24
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG25
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG26
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG27
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG28
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG29
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG30
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG31
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG32
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG33
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG34
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG35
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG36
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG37
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG38
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG39
Pizza Today - March 2022 - SG40
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 51
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Solid Slice Sales
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 53
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 54
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 55
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Trending Tavern Style
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 57
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 58
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 59
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Southeast Asian Fusion
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 61
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Pasta for Profits
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 63
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 64
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 65
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Hot Topping: Chorizo
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 67
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 68
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 69
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Valuation of the Biz
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 71
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 72
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 73
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Transferring Ownership
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 75
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 76
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 77
Pizza Today - March 2022 - The Spinoff Pizzeria
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 79
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 80
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 81
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Employee Morale
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 83
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 84
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 85
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Go on the Offensive at Pizza Expo
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 87
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 88
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 89
Pizza Today - March 2022 - On the Road: Triple Jay's Pizza, Atlanta, Georgia
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 91
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 92
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 93
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Product Showcase
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 95
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Pizza Today Yellow Pages
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 97
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 98
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 99
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 146
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 101
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 102
Pizza Today - March 2022 - The Marketplace
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 104
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 105
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 106
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 107
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 108
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 109
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 110
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 111
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 112
Pizza Today - March 2022 - 113
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Expo Spotlight
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Cover3
Pizza Today - March 2022 - Cover4
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