Food & Beverage

Whether you are a startup, a well-established brand, or anything in between, we recognize that legal challenges can arise at any stage of the food and beverage industry journey. Our multidisciplinary team is here to guide you through every legal aspect, allowing you to focus on what you do best - delivering exceptional products and services to your customers.

Who We Represent

• Restaurant retail owners - brick and mortar storefronts and food trucks
• Franchisors and franchisees
• Banks and other agribusiness lenders
• Craft breweries
• Dairy, agricultural, and livestock farmers
• Grocery retail stores
• Catering companies
• Hotels and hotel operators
• Craft breweries and wineries 
• Event/entertainment centers
• Food and beverage processors and manufacturers
• Trade associations
• Wineries

We assist clients with the following:

Contract Negotiation and Drafting: Our team can assist clients in negotiating and drafting agreements with suppliers, distributors, retailers, franchisors/franchisees, and other key stakeholders.

Corporate and Transactional Services: From business formation, corporate governance, succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, and everything in between, our corporate and transactional services are designed to support your business goals and strategic initiatives.

Government Relations: Our registered in-house lawyer/lobbyists have a track record of building clients’ “brands” on Capitol Square by monitoring and analyzing legislation, drafting bills and amendments, and communicating firsthand with legislators and executive branch officials to advance our clients’ objectives.

Intellectual Property: Safeguard your brand identity and recipes through our comprehensive intellectual property services, including trademark registration and trade secret management.

Labor & Employment: From compliance audits to performance management, non-compete enforcement, leave and accommodation management, employment litigation and labor arbitrations, we routinely assist clients in a wide range of labor and employment matters.

Litigation and Dispute Resolution: In the event of legal disputes, we are prepared to advocate for your interests. Whether it's contract disputes, product liability claims, or other legal challenges, we have the experience to represent you effectively.

Real Estate: Our attorneys are experienced in handling the intricacies of real estate matters for food and beverage establishments. From negotiating lease agreements, acquisition, financing, construction, development, ownership and disposition of real estate assets within the food and beverage industry, our team ensures that your interests are protected.

Regulatory Compliance: Stay ahead of the constantly evolving regulatory environment with our experience in navigating compliance requirements related to food safety, labeling, advertising, and more.

Tax Services: We assist clients in navigating the complexities of sales tax regulations, ensuring proper collection and remittance. Our team also provides guidance on use tax matters, helping clients avoid potential pitfalls.

Events

Publications

“Bricker Graydon is an insightful, knowledgeable, strategic, and professional group of lawyers and staff capable of helping you with any issue. As a small, independent restaurant company, we have considered Bricker Graydon to be a partner in our success for over the past 40 years! They have helped us navigate many complex issues common to any size of business operating today. Bricker Graydon has a knowledgeable, professional, and caring team that makes working with them easy and seamless. They are approachable and cost-effective. When the time comes, we always call on our partners at Bricker Graydon to help give us human resource guidance, develop best practices, navigate the liquor license process, educate us on liability issues, develop business strategy, and implement succession planning. After 40 years of collaboration with Bricker Graydon, we feel confident in giving them our highest recommendation.”

Michael Pardo
The National Exemplar Restaurant
Cincinnati, OH