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My wife and I are planning on starting a small business. We are in the Dallas area and have been in talks with several cities for properties that could house our venture. It's a shop that would sell alcoholic beverages for on-site and off-site consumption. This type of venture has narrowed down our search significantly because not all cities allow for alcohol sales exceeding 50%. Of the cities that do, we are ready to start looking into leasing spots and building out. What are the things to ask for when talking to leasers? Do we need a leasing agent? What are the "gotchas" to look out for? Any advice is welcome! EDIT: Is there a way to estimate/determine Tax/Insurance/Maintenance for a NNN lease? What do leasers usually allow for tenant allowance? How much is too much to ask for? (Walls, bathrooms, power, etc) raej fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Apr 20, 2015 |
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Apr 20, 2015 16:16
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 19:42 |
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Can't help you with the leasing portion of this, but DO get in touch with the TABC sooner rather than later. Licensing has changed a fair amount over the last several years, especially as pertains to on/off premise (I'm assuming beer and wine), pre-application signage, etc. They're not hard to work with but the rules are pretty strict. First things first - do you or your wife (or any other potential investors) have any financial ties to an existing alcohol distributor or manufacturer? Need to sever those ties first if so. About Me: Managed bars in Houston for several years, though it was awhile ago.
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Apr 20, 2015 21:29
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Shooting Blanks posted:Can't help you with the leasing portion of this, but DO get in touch with the TABC sooner rather than later. Licensing has changed a fair amount over the last several years, especially as pertains to on/off premise (I'm assuming beer and wine), pre-application signage, etc. They're not hard to work with but the rules are pretty strict. We're checking each possible location with the TABC and the City to make sure this would be a kosher operation. Applying for a TABC permit is the first thing we'll do once we sign a lease. We also plan on putting in a contingency clause for getting out of the lease if for some reason the TABC does not approve the permit. Neither of us have any ties to distributor or manufacturers, we're IT nerds looking to get out of the rat race. What bar in Houston?
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Apr 20, 2015 22:33
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raej posted:We're checking each possible location with the TABC and the City to make sure this would be a kosher operation. Applying for a TABC permit is the first thing we'll do once we sign a lease. We also plan on putting in a contingency clause for getting out of the lease if for some reason the TABC does not approve the permit. Not gonna post my former employers publicly, more than one of them is still open, sorry. One major thing in TX is you have to put a large sign in the window indicating that you're planning on applying for an alcoholic beverage permit to give neighbors the opportunity to protest it. I don't remember offhand how far in advance (90 days?) but that's something you'll want to sort out with TABC as soon as you find a location. If there was ever a permit at that location I THINK you're exempt, but don't take my word for it. TABC will provide the sign (in fact they'll provide pretty much all required signage) and that should be one of the first things you ask about.
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Apr 21, 2015 04:53
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I helped find a commercial space for a nonprofit I was involved with a couple years ago, and it was pretty crazy how differently commercial RE works. A lot of the landlords offered things like no rent for 6months to a year. There were also varying lease terms, ranging from a year to 10+ years. Most of the NNN places were delivered as a shell with maybe a bathroom or an office area, but obviously you could do basically whatever you wanted to the interior. The long leases were a big deal, because the renegotiation down the road can get nasty. Basically, it seemed like everything was negotiable. It's probably worth getting a broker, there's a lot going on. I don't know anything about alcohol licences. In everywhere I've lived you pretty much had to buy an existing bar/liquor store to get a licence and even then it seemed like a pretty shady process. Anyway, opening a retail business is a terrible loving idea and you are probably going to ruin financial future and definitely ruin your marriage, but uh knock yourself out. If you don't like the rat race now, wait until you have to clean toilets because you can't afford to pay a kid minimum wage to do it.
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Apr 21, 2015 05:22
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I don't know about your marriage surviving, but retail isn't that bad. You're going into a much better field than cafes and food shops or stupid knicknacs. So unless you're retarded you should be alright. My boss makes millions a year in bottleshops and pubs. I work in their equivalent of a money pit. Just make sure your plan is a good one. If you can convince someone to invest in your business on the strength of your business plan than you're onto a winner.
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Apr 21, 2015 09:30
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Yeah, I would highly recommend using a broker - you don't pay them, the lessor pays, so why not? I leased a couple different commercial properties over a 15 year period for my machinery rebuilding business, and used a broker both times, it made life much easier because, like the other guy said, everything's negotiable. Some lessors offer increasing-payment leases where the rent is cheap at the beginning and ramps up, some offer the first couple months free, others will put X dollars toward building renovations, it's more confusing than buying a house. The only thing I would really check out is the zoning - it can be weird and selling booze might fall into some oddball restricted category. Good luck!
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Apr 22, 2015 03:52
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raej posted:We're checking each possible location with the TABC and the City to make sure this would be a kosher operation. Applying for a TABC permit is the first thing we'll do once we sign a lease. We also plan on putting in a contingency clause for getting out of the lease if for some reason the TABC does not approve the permit. What kind of business are you looking to start? Your question seems to be a bit vague. Are you looking to set up a Wine bar? There's no need to be coy, nobody is going to steal your brilliant plan to sell booze to people. Do you want to set up a Wine bar, a regular bar, a hookah bar, a restaurant with a bar, a brew pub, a liquor store, a quickie mart, strip club or a beer barn? Those all have different legal hurdles, and they all go through the TABC. And then after that you need to have a friendly city council to sign off on them. thrakkorzog fucked around with this message at 12:17 on Apr 22, 2015 |
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Apr 22, 2015 09:56
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raej posted:It's a shop that would sell alcoholic beverages for on-site and off-site consumption. Bars can't sell you a drink to take with you, and liquor stores won't let you drink on site. It sounds to me like he's planning to open an Eskimo Hut, or something like that. A business that prepares cocktails and frozen alcoholic drinks on-site, and then either serves them there or seals them in a closed container that you can drive home with legally. (If the cops pull you over, they check the seal. Broken seal = open container.) Am I close?
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Apr 22, 2015 09:59
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Do you really not have growlers where you live? I assumed the OP was setting up a craft beer pub since they are all the rage, and most places like that near me have growler takeout because why not.
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Apr 22, 2015 15:13
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tsa posted:Do you really not have growlers where you live? I assumed the OP was setting up a craft beer pub since they are all the rage, and most places like that near me have growler takeout because why not. This is what I was thinking.
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Apr 22, 2015 17:04
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Yes, a growler/crowler shop. Dallas has 3, 2 are near downtown, one is in BFE Lewisville.
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Apr 22, 2015 18:17
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The first person you should be talking to is a lawyer that has experience in the booze business and knows the licensing and insurance requirements.. Location is pretty far down the list sometimes..
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Apr 28, 2015 20:45
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 19:42 |
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It might be worthwhile to go chat with the folks at Craft & Growler down in Fair Park.
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Apr 29, 2015 00:14
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