1) will mall management be amiable to her transferring her space lease to a space that has a restroom if she doesn’t have one in her shop?
2) will mall management let her put a few bistro tables outside ala Starbucks (corner location)?
3) was the fact she was opening an eat-in restaurant spelled out in the lease and did the management company represent the space as suitable for an eat-in restaurant?
If the answer to all 3 is ‘no’, then she has no recourse.
If the answer to the first two is ‘yes’ then problem solved. If the answer to the first two is ‘no’ but the answer to the last question is ‘yes’ then she needs to see a lawyer tootsweet. p.s., don’t withhold the rent but have it paid to a trust account the lawyer will set up - looks better with the judge if it comes to that.
I don’t know about 10K, (unless that’s a quote from the management co. who will fleece her six ways to sunday since she is their ‘captive audience’) but basically, a handicapped accessible restroom is an extended stall or single room wide enough for a wheelchair to do a three-point turn, with a door wide enough for a standard wheelchair, with handrails by the toilet, and a sink with lever faucets that’s table-height a person can reach seated, where there is another handrail. Subway is a good example to visit. Slap a handicap-assessible sign on the door. A few hundred dollars at the most to upgrade an existing restroom, and a thousand in city inspector work permits. (another p.s., - do NOT install the handrails yourself - hire a licensed contractor. Somebody is bound to pull one out of the wall and you want to deflect the lawsuit that will surely follow)
All great things to ask the lawyer(s) about I suppose.
I’ve heard about the difficulty in getting restaurants going. I wondered why in some cities it’s impossible to find a good indy Greek restaurant. Maybe it’s the regulations — nobody even wants to try. Unless you have a parent company and a lot of franchises.