Renowned New York City Restauranteur Pivots to Miami with Assistance from Zeidel & Associates
Situation
Zeidel & Associates represents a renowned, high-end restaurant operator based in New York City that has numerous iconic brands and concepts that are known for their exclusivity and celebrity clientele. The company needed urgent help to close time-sensitive transactions in an efficient and cost-effective manner, and looked to Zeidel & Associates for our reputation, Big Law and in-house experience and competitive rates.
While many New York City-based restaurants were shuttering during the height of the pandemic, our client chose to aggressively pursue an expansion into the greater Miami area. Due to Florida’s less stringent COVID restrictions, many restauranteurs were drawn to the state, which stimulated intense competition for suitable restaurant space, much of which had been recently abandoned. Our client also wished to pursue an opportunity to participate in the revitalization of a resort located in Boca Raton, which would feature multiple food and beverage venues with unique concepts.
Approach
In order to support our client’s intended expansion into a heated Florida market, Zeidel & Associates immediately evaluated and provided feedback on numerous potential leases simultaneously to preserve all opportunities that would allow our client to quickly pivot into this new market. With speed to market as the driving factor, we focused on identifying and resolving the critical “deal breakers.” At the same time, we secured valuable New York City space for our client’s existing New York City brands, to support our client’s expectation that the New York restaurant market would eventually rebound.
Result
With great urgency, Zeidel & Associates pinpointed our client’s most critical liability issues and found creative ways to protect it against risks posed by committing to space under time pressure with landlords who had their choice of new tenants. Almost immediately after signing several of these leases, our client opened its signature restaurants in Miami, creating an immediate “buzz” and quickly establishing itself as an integral part of the Miami restaurant scene.