How do I crack this nut?
 

There's a little strip mall down the road from me. There's one successful restaurant which opens for breakfast and lunch only. Next to this restaurant there's a "dead restaurant space" and two storefronts down there are two more dead restaurant spaces. These are spots where numerous restaurants have tried to set up shop and failed.

OK

Since this only successful restaurant is the main tenant in this strip mall, he gets to threaten the others by agreement with the strip mall owners that the other restaurants do not serve breakfast. I can't really wrap my head around this except to tell people to go elsewhere if they want to open up a restaurant.

Which player are you in the situation? landlord, would be breakfast mogul or other?

Advisor to someone looking for a space.

Sounds reasonable to me were I the landlord or successful tenant.

OK, serve brunch.
Tom

If its a written agreement the landloard wrote/accepted, guess he will have to live with the empty spaces. On the other hand, what is the definition of breakfast? It would be interesting to see the wording in this so called agreement.

I'm no expert on commercial leases (understatement), but I believe that sort of agreement is common. My guess is that the current restaurant/tenant would have no problem getting a court to enforce the restriction. Someone familiar with landlord/tenant law in your state might disagree with me, but I bet that is how it would go.

That is an interesting question, but who would want to invest in a new restaurant based on the hope that they might find a clever way around the breakfast restriction?

Oh heck no, not even with your money:D It just leaves some thought as there is limited knowledge of how this agreement is cemented and worded.

That was my thought.

Does the agreement between the owner and the successful tenant really exist or is it just the restauranteur blowing smoke?

That's where I am at. That would be a FAIL business decsion on the landlords part to enter into such an agreement. So if I opened a cloths store could I ask that no one else sell cloths?:confused:

Go in there and sell a $1.99 breakfast that has about 8 pounds of food till the bum closes.;)

I would guess that there is no such agreement but that Mr. Breakfast has been a long time steady renter. Mr Landlord probably does not want to loose Mr Breakfast so Mr Breakfast can tell Mr Landlord that if you make me compete with someone I will leave and you will have one more vacant spot. Do you think you can fill it?

By the same token, would Mr Breakfast REALLY call anyone's bluff? The immediate result of closing up is NO CASH!

How long before he gets set up again?

Does he have that much in the bank to waste?

The alternative is to name the place: the Snack shop and sell breakfast, lunch and dinner snacks! Like Spanish tapas, or mini meals.

1. egg sandwich
2. bacon and egg sandwich
3. pig ina blanket
4. French toast with powdered sugar
5. ham and egg sandwich

HOT CARRY AWAY SANDWICHES OF A MILLION TYPES!
SOUP IN A CUP
BURGERS
CORNED BEEF SANDWICHES
HOT POTATO WITH CHEESE
CHUILI!
HOT DOGS WITH everything


ETC ETC ETC


Like a German Stehcafe, which is really a bakery with a few tables where people stand and eat thewir pastry and dring a coffee, you could do the same thing.

Then, in the summer, put out chairs and splurge from 3:00-9:00 when Mr. Breakfast isn't AROUND.

Actually, that is worded in the contract. For instance, if I set up a shop right next to H&R Block, they could have it in their contract about being exclusive. So, If I owned H&R Block, I would make it a part of my contract that you do not allow anyone who is doing taxes in that strip mall. My friend's store wanted to do taxes and H&R said "NO. We have exclusive rights" or whatever the term is. OTOH, if there is no contract with the first owner, there is an issue with the successful business threatening to leave.

That said, why there? There are so many open spaces with the recession that they can pick and choose. Another friend of mine had a Karate shop. He made so much noise the massage place wanted him gone because it disrupts the clients. Maybe they were taking too long with the distractions for the "happy ending", IDK :D. Anyways, the strip mall owner offered to have him move into a place further from the massage shop. He went shopping and found another place a little down the road for half the rent. So, my answer would be "FAWK YOU! I'm gone". There are other places that want me.

If you can't serve breakfast, just serve lunch and dinner.

There is a location about 2 miles from my house that has had about 6 restaurants in the last 10 years. The most recent, a Bacco, has been there for about 5 years now and is doing great. They open for lunch and dinner. The previous failed restaurant attempts were all breakfast/brunch (all you can eat) places.

Personally, I'd never want to open a breakfast place due to the fast pace with most getting just coffee and a bagel. At least with lunch and dinner, you can charge a bit more and if you get a liquor license, you're set.

I know several restaurant owners and the most successful is the owner of a pizza shop with a bar. :thumbsup: