Common Legal Pitfalls | A Pizza Expo 2026 Education Exclusive

How to avoid the most widespread legal issues pizzerias face

Opening a pizzeria is no small feat. From designing a kitchen and dining area to ordering equipment, hiring employees, working with city departments and partnering with lenders or investors, it can be easy to overlook legal requirements and best practices in operating your business. During my seminar at the upcoming International Pizza Expo, I’ll be discussing some of the most common legal pitfalls that operators face and how to avoid them. What follows is a preview of what you can expect on March 24.

Employee Gratuity

When it comes to employment matters, most operators find themselves at the center of a complex labyrinth of regulation – both at the state and federal levels. Regulators often examine gratuity to ensure that all tips received by an employer are paid out to employees in a timely manner. While tip pooling or tip sharing has become more popular in the industry to help balance the wage differential between front and back of house, restaurants must follow a complex set of rules from both the federal Department of Labor and state agencies. Penalties for noncompliance can be extremely costly – especially if the issue has gone on for some time. Not only are the penalties staggering, but headlines about enforcement often mean negative publicity for a restaurant, as tip noncompliance is considered wage theft. My Pizza Expo session will offer the most updated set of rules to ensure you are following appropriate standards and regulations.

Employment Matters

Employment law is constantly changing, and the environment is becoming increasingly litigious – especially in the restaurant industry. Regulations continue to evolve, especially at state and local levels. The most important topic I’ll cover in my seminar is the importance of having a clearly defined employee handbook that all employees sign during the hiring and onboarding process. The handbook, which should be prepared by an attorney, ought to clearly define your company’s expectations for employee conduct and define both the legal rights that employees have and the legal obligations that your business has to employees. Thus, a handbook is both:

• A proactive tool that fosters a positive work environment and upholds your standards.
• A defensive backstop in costly litigation from an aggrieved employee.

We’ll go in depth into specifics that can strengthen and enhance your current policies.

Insurance

Nobody wants to think about the “what ifs” that could plague their businesses – we usually have enough drama going on without some kind of catastrophe. However, it’s best to be prepared for as many scenarios as possible, whether that be a natural disaster, a slip-and-fall incident with a customer on your property, drain backups or fires. The best way to prepare for these incidents is to ensure that you have adequate insurance coverage that will protect your business and your income as much as possible while still striking the right balance of insurance premiums to potential exposure in a worst-case scenario. I’ll give you objective insights into what coverages often work best for restaurants and how to procure the best policies for your business needs.

Liquor Liability

For restaurants that serve alcohol, it is critical to be fully in compliance with liquor laws. Liability for restaurants that overserve a customer can be massive – especially if the person who was overserved injures someone as a result of their intoxication. Many restaurant operators and their employees don’t realize that liability rests on both restaurant and server, meaning that both parties can be sued in civil court for damages to a victim of drunk driving. However, pizzerias can take steps to mitigate liability and help prevent injury to others from intoxication.

Intellectual Property

A restaurant can have the best pizza, but if its branding is subpar, the business might not make it long enough to win accolades and a loyal customer base. Worse yet, a business could have great branding and marketing, but if that branding is infringing upon the intellectual property of another U.S. business, a costly legal battle could force it to change its entire identity. In my seminar, we’ll talk through the steps needed to protect your branding rights from infringement by others. We’ll also talk about startup intellectual property and how to select a name and slogans that do not impact the legal rights of other businesses in the industry.

Restaurant Leases

Leases are complex contracts that involve the rights and responsibilities of both landlord and tenant. Not understanding your obligations in a lease – such as HVAC, insurance and property maintenance – can create major issues in the landlord-tenant relationship as well as unanticipated expenses. In my seminar, we’ll go through how to negotiate a reasonable lease, what provisions to look for before signing and the importance of finding the right location where you can achieve profitability quickly without burdensome hidden fees or charges in the lease.

While I know legal issues are not the most “fun” topics, my goal is to protect the industry from costly mistakes. As both a pizzeria operator and an attorney, my unique insight into these issues can help you run a profitable and successful pizzeria. I can’t wait to see you in March!

Thomas Reinhard is a Seattle-based business attorney and a co-owner of Cascadia Pizza Co.

 

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