Expansion Option

It's the unbuttoning of that top button of your jeans.

Okay, maybe not.

You want to open a restaurant in an abandoned factory downtown. You aren't sure it's going to be a success, so you're nervous about leasing such a large space. So, in the beginning, you just take over the area in one corner of the old factory.

But your lease includes an expansion option.

If things go well in the initial stages of the business, you can exercise the option to take over more of the space. Your rent will go up if you expand the business, but you don't have to expand it if things aren't going well.

The expansion option allows you to try out the concept with ten tables and a small bar. If people like the food and you find yourself filled night after night, you can put your expansion option into place. You can then put in another ten tables and extend the bar to fill the entire back wall of the refurbished building.