Opening a restaurant is an exciting time, but an owner must take care while negotiating the construction contract to protect itself and anticipate the key issues that may arise during the project. Below are ten issues to consider when drafting and negotiating your construction contract.

1. Avoid cost-plus contracts.
Cost-plus contracts should be avoided for two reasons. First, they involve a significant administrative component, as the owner and/or the architect must review the invoices and audit the contractor’s books to ensure that the claimed costs are reimbursable under the terms of the contract. Second, and more importantly, these contracts provide no incentive to contractors to control costs, unlike a fixed-price contract in which the price is set and the contractor bears the risk of completing the project within that price. If at all possible, choose a fixed-price contract. Alternatively, if the project is risky (due to unknown conditions or an unfinished design) and you must enter into a cost-plus contract, establish a guaranteed maximum price to cap the costs.

2. Avoid upfront deposits.
The key to successfully managing a construction project is controlling the flow of money, and an owner should avoid advance payments unless absolutely necessary. If there are certain specialty items or other items that a contractor needs to order and pay for in advance of the work beginning, a deposit may make sense. In most situations, however, payment of deposits should be avoided. 

On September 5, 2018 the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) held an outreach seminar with attorneys and municipal counsel to discuss new rules and procedures covering retail license applications, annual renewals, website updates, and more.  Information was provided by Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and ABCC leadership, including: Commissioner Jean Lorizio, Executive Director Ralph Sacramone, and Licensing Supervisor Ryan Mellville.  Below is summary of the updates:

Agency Budget Increase & New Hires. The treasurer secured additional funding for the ABCC, which will be used, in part, on new staffing, including: additional investigators, associate general counsel, and upgrading two associate commissioners from part to full time.  These will be the first additional hires to the investigations department in over ten years, during which time the licensing caseload nearly doubled.

Every staff member who potentially interacts with each and every customer, either in person or on the phone,  is a goodwill ambassador for your establishment. As such, it's really important for all staff to be well-versed in the fundamentals of who you are, what you do and what's available to the customers on any given day.

This should include important or interesting anecdotes about the business, its history and its people, a general understanding of your ‘concept’ and business ‘personality’, and what's going on any given day in the establishment, from music schedule, if applicable, to food or drink specials, as well as the menu in general.

As important, or maybe more so, is that all staff understand the importance of making sure that every interaction with a guest  is friendly, personable, informative, and responsive. And that they are always willing to go the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction.

Boston Harbor Distillery (BHD) is celebrating it’s third anniversary by launching it’s first whiskey produced on site in 2015, Putnam New England Single Malt Whiskey, bottled at 100 proof. 
Founded by alcohol beverage industry veteran, Rhonda Kallman in 2012, BHD creates proprietary spirits that integrate rich history, distinctive experiences and beverage culture into each bottle it produces. 

Housed in a pre-Civil War era building overlooking Boston Harbor, the Distillery serves as both a distilling facility, event space and tasting room & mercantile. BHD pulls inspiration from New England’s bounty of seasonal tastes to distill and bottle their own proprietary brands featuring the names of early Massachusetts entrepreneurs who once occupied the same site: Putnam New England Whiskey; Lawley’s Small Batch Rums; and Maple Cream & Coffee Liqueurs inspired by Seymour’s Ice Cream. Additionally, BHD distills finished Sam Adams beer varieties into one-of-a-kind 84 proof spirits.  All BHD spirits have a uniquely Boston accent!