Hospitality Law Blog : Hospitality Lawyer & Attorney : Davis Wright Tremaine Law Firm : Hotel & Restaurant Law, Employment Issues

By Cary Greene

On Monday, the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (“TTB”) released new guidance on the use of social media by alcohol beverage companies. The Industry Circular explicitly equates “social media” with “advertising,” and suggests that advertising regulatory requirements, including statements and disclosures mandated by TTB rules, apply to social networks and video sharing sites.

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The New York Times’ love affair with Portland, Oregon continues in this article that describes New York City’s byzantine regulatory scheme for food carts and ends with a shout-out to Portland, food cart nirvana. 

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By Rochelle Spandorf and Laura Warf

The foodservice industry’s leading news source, Nation’s Restaurant News, is currently conducting a survey asking readers to choose among eight regulatory issues for the one they think will have the biggest impact on food service businesses in the next two years: menu labeling; soda/ingredient bands; health care reform; tax reform; immigration; mandatory paid time off; minimum wage; or environmental issues. We’ve added two more regulatory potholes to the list: food safety and ADA. Click here for the 10 biggest regulatory potholes for food services franchises today.

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By Ashley Watkins, Cary Greene, Chip English and Dave Ernst

Recently, the parents of a young man who died of alcohol poisoning filed a wrongful death suit against Phusion Projects, Inc., the company behind the “Four Loko” Beverage. This type of lawsuit against the manufacturer of an alcohol beverage is uncommon. Dram shop laws facilitate lawsuits against retailers for over-serving someone who subsequently causes a drunk- driving accident, but courts typically have not found a manufacturer liable for harms to the consumer caused by his own over-consumption. However, Four Loko has seen its fair share of this kind of litigation (see an overview of them in this insurance coverage lawsuit).

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By Peter Sergienko

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on April 8, researchers have projected changes in suitable growing regions for wine grape production in 2050 using runs on 17 different global climate models and assuming two different carbon emissions scenarios. The findings project major global geographic shifts in suitability for viticulture, with significant declines in traditional wine producing regions with Mediterranean climates such as Bordeaux, Rhone and Tuscany. Current suitability is retained in smaller areas, especially at higher elevations and in coastal areas. Increases in suitability are projected in more northern regions in North American and Europe.

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Cary Greene, former general counsel to the influential association of U.S. wineries, WineAmerica, has joined Davis Wright Tremaine in its Washington, D.C. office. During his tenure at WineAmerica, Greene successfully supported the passage of winery direct-to-consumer shipping legislation in Maryland and Pennsylvania, and worked with distillers and brewers to defeat state and federal legislation that threatened to restrict the sale and distribution of alcohol beverages.

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By Carol Bernick

The Portland City Council has passed a paid sick leave mandate that requires employers to provide paid leave for employees to use for personal and family member illness as well as certain safety concerns. The new ordinance takes effect on Jan. 1, 2014. Employers who already offer paid sick leave or paid time off still need to review, and likely revise, their policies.

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The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold a public meeting on FDA’s proposed food safety rules in Portland, OR on March 27-28. The rules implement portions of the recent Food Safety Modernization Act by imposing sweeping federal regulation of local farming practices and food processing operations across the nation.

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Over the last few weeks, two big stories have made headlines in the food industry. Beginning in early February, news media across Europe began reporting that food products tested in several European countries contained horsemeat, purportedly marketed as beef. The reports also indicated that it was highly likely that consumers had eaten this mislabeled, and in some cases tainted, product. A few weeks later, word came that the U.S. Department of Justice handed down a 76-count indictment against individuals formerly associated with the Peanut Corp. of America related to the company’s handling of a Salmonella outbreak in 2009. Both of these stories reflect the increased awareness of food issues among consumers, regulatory agencies and the media alike, and also provide lessons to be learned by food producers. The Peanut Corp. of America case is also part of a trend to criminalize conduct involving food safety that is alleged to present a danger to the public.

Read more.

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DWT developed the concept and wrote this bill for the Oregon Winegrowers Association. We hope that this becomes model legislation for our winery and brewery clients in other states as well.

See the KGW news report, featuring our clients Chehalem Winery and Hopworks Urban Brewery.

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While the real estate market may be climbing back to its former position, the world’s tallest hotel opens for business to the public today.  Where can one find this Guinness World Record holding hotel?  In Dubai, of course. With over 800 rooms in just one of its towers (the second tower will open in late 2014), this hotel has 77 floors and is just shy of the height of the Empire State Building. This soaring hotel is branded under the new and exclusive JW Marriott Marquis brand. Learn more about this towering hotel here.

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The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has recognized Elkton as Oregon’s newest American Viticultural Area (“AVA”). The decision allows local winegrowers to label their wines with the “Elkton Oregon” appellation.

The Elkton AVA contains nearly 75,000 acres and is located in Douglas County about 50 miles southwest of Eugene. This area is about 30 miles from the Pacific Ocean in a canyon carved by the Umpqua River. The Elkton AVA is wholly contained within the larger Umpqua Valley AVA, which is turn in part of the Southern Oregon AVA.

The Elkton area is separated from the rest of the Umpqua Valley by a low ridge of hills that trap the incoming ocean air. This distinctive geography enables Elkton winegrowers to cultivate high quality pinot noir and other cool climate grape varietals.

Congratulations to the winegrowers of Elkton, Oregon!
 

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Congratulations to our clients Manresa (Los Gatos, CA) and Pok Pok (Portland, OR) for being named one of the top 20 most important restaurants in America by bon appétit magazine. This list recognizes the “fearless spots that drive chefs to innovate, restaurateurs to imitate, and the rest of us to line up… these are the restaurants that matter right now.”

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Remember when Howard Johnson and Holiday Inn were some of the only  hotel brands you could  trust? Or when a hotel restaurant was the last place you wanted to eat? Now, a restaurant brand has its own hotel chain! Today, a whole new set of “brands” lend credibility to the hotel marketplace – and those brands are luxury crystal (Baccarat), world famous department stores (Harrods), high end fashion  (Armani and Bulgari) and yes…even restaurants (Nobu). This article, about the new Nobu Hotel, shows just how hotel brands are changing and how our “appetite” for brands are eating up the hotel market.

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