Partner

“Ari is professional, thoughtful and meticulous. He is also a zealous advocate for his clients.”

Chambers USA 2023

Mr. Tenzer is the founder and a managing partner of the firm. Mr. Tenzer’s extensive experience includes advising domestic and international clients on the acquisition, sale, development, financing, leasing, and management of real estate. Mr. Tenzer devotes a considerable amount of his practice to transactions in the hospitality industry, representing owners and operators in connection with diverse matters, including negotiating hotel management agreements, casino management agreements, hotel license and franchise agreements, complex restaurant leases, and F&B management agreements, for projects around the world.

Prior to founding the firm, Mr. Tenzer was an attorney at the international law firm of White & Case LLP where he worked within the firm’s corporate and real estate practice groups in Miami, Mexico City, and São Paulo. Mr. Tenzer’s experience also includes working as a foreign attorney at Baker & McKenzie in São Paulo.

Mr. Tenzer participated in the Put Something Back Pro Bono Project in which attorneys provided free legal services to Holocaust Survivors, assisting them in obtaining reparations payments pursuant to the German Ghetto Work Payment Program, a program created to offer payments to Holocaust Survivors who worked in German-controlled ghettos during World War II. Mr. Tenzer also participates in clinics hosted by Legal Services of Greater Miami in which attorneys meet with and provide advice to indigent members of society.

Notable Hospitality & Gaming Experience

• Represented a foreign hotel developer in connection with the negotiation of a hotel license and casino management agreement with Hard Rock for a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The project consists of just under 1,800 hotel rooms and 45,000 square feet of gaming space, making it one of the largest hotels and one of the largest casinos in the Caribbean.
• Represented a foreign hotel developer in connection with the negotiation of a hotel license and casino management agreement with Hard Rock for a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The project will include 400 hotel rooms and 23,000 square feet of gaming space, as well as multiple restaurants and entertainment venues.
• Represented an international retail client in connection with the negotiation of a hotel and casino management agreement with an international hotel brand for a new development in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. The project will include approximately 250 hotel rooms, 35,000 square feet of gaming space, plus retail and entertainment components.
• Represented the owner of the Eden Roc Hotel on Miami Beach, Florida in connection with the negotiation of a management agreement with Nobu Hospitality for a boutique Nobu hotel within the Eden Roc Hotel. The Nobu Hotel will be a “hotel within a hotel,” similar in concept to the Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, containing approximately 200 newly renovated rooms.
• Represented a foreign developer in connection with the negotiation of a hotel management agreement with a renowned hotel flag for a new hotel in Budapest, Hungary. The hotel will include 133 hotel rooms and will be located in the heart of historic downtown Budapest.
• Represented a foreign hotel developer in connection with the negotiation of a license agreement with an international hotel brand for a new hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica. When completed, the hotel will have approximately 800 rooms, making it one of the largest on the island.
• Represented a local developer in connection with the negotiation of a franchise agreement with Hyatt for a new Hyatt Centric in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The hotel will occupy the first 15 floors of a high-rise condo-hotel project and will have approximately 238 hotel rooms. Once completed, the development will be the tallest building in Ft. Lauderdale and include approximately 8,500-square feet of retail and restaurant space.
• Represented a foreign developer in connection with the negotiation of transaction documents with a luxury hotel flag for the development of a large-scale, mixed-use project in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The hotel component is to include 125 guest rooms, restaurants, and a private club. The project will also include branded residences and a golf course.
• Represented a foreign hotel developer in connection with the negotiation of hotel license agreements with Hard Rock for two new hotels in Mexico, one in Cabo San Lucas, and the other in Riviera Cancun. The Cabo property will have 600 guest rooms, while the Riviera Cancun location is expected to have 900.
• Represented a foreign hotel developer in connection with the negotiation of a hotel management agreement with Nobu Hospitality for a Nobu Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The 200-room property will be the first-ever Nobu Hotel in Mexico and will include a signature Nobu Restaurant and Bar.
• Represented a foreign hotel developer in connection with the negotiation of license agreements with Hard Rock for the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun, Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, and Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta. The Cancun hotel features 600 guest rooms and multiple dining and entertainment options. The Riviera Maya property consists of 1,264 guest rooms and branded golf course. The Puerto Vallarta project includes 348 guest rooms and a private golf course.

Notable Food & Beverage Experience

• Represented Zuma Restaurants in connection with the negotiation of a 9,245 square foot restaurant lease in the heart of downtown Miami at the EPIC Hotel. Miami was the first U.S. location for Zuma, an international award-winning restaurant, which overlooks the Miami River and includes a large outdoor dining area.
• Represented the owners of the Marriott Stanton South Beach in connection with the negotiation of a lease with Plan Do See, a Japanese food & beverage company with first-class restaurants around the world, under which Plan Do See will open and operate three restaurants at the hotel in addition to managing the hotel’s food & beverage operations.
• Represented the owners of the Eden Roc Hotel on Miami Beach in connection with the negotiation of a food & beverage management agreement with Nobu Hospitality to manage the Eden Roc’s entire food & beverage operation. This transaction also included negotiating a restaurant lease with Nobu Restaurants to bring the largest Nobu restaurant and bar in the world to the Eden Roc, with a total footprint of over 17,000 square feet.
• Represented Coya Restaurants in connection with the negotiation of a restaurant lease for a space of approximately 8,500 square feet at 999 Brickell Avenue. The restaurant has an outdoor terrace facing Brickell Avenue, along with a private members club.
• Represented a foreign hotel developer in connection with the negotiation of a hotel restaurant license agreement with Nobu Hospitality for a Nobu restaurant to be located in a Nobu Hotel in Los Cabos, Mexico.
• Represented La Petite Maison in connection with the negotiation of a restaurant lease for a high-end restaurant of approximately 5,000 square feet of interior space and nearly 2,500 square feet of terrace space at 1300 Brickell Bay Drive in Miami. This represents La Petite Maison’s first foray into the U.S. market and will complement their other international locations in London, Dubai, and Istanbul.
• Represented the tenant in connection with the negotiation of a lease for DÔA, a Latin-inspired Asian restaurant of approximately 5,200 square feet in the heart of Miami Beach.
• Represented SuViche in connection with the negotiation of a lease for a new restaurant on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, and the transaction documents for their restaurant in Wynwood.
• Represented the owners of the Eden Roc Hotel on Miami Beach in connection with the negotiation of a license agreement with Malibu Farm for a restaurant at the Eden Roc. Malibu Farm is a unique farm-to-table restaurant concept from California.

Notable Real Estate Experience

• Represented the shareholders of a Florida company in connection with its sale of 91,000 acres of land in Southwest Florida to an investment group led by a real estate fund, which then sold the majority of the land to the State of Florida. This transaction was the largest land conservation acquisition in the history of the State of Florida.
• Represented a private equity fund in connection with its acquisition of a US$350 million dollar loan secured by a luxury resort and residences in Anguilla, British West Indies.
• Represented a private equity fund in connection with its acquisition of the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
• Represented a large national homebuilder in connection with an exhibitor agreement and sub-exhibitor agreements for an exhibit at Epcot® theme park at Walt Disney World Resort.
• Represented a private equity fund in connection with its US$4.1 billion acquisition of the subsidiary of a global biopharmaceutical company, which included several manufacturing facilities in multiple states.
• Represented a Dutch bank in connection with its restructuring and disposition of US$2 billion portfolio of loans and REO properties.
• Represented a private equity fund in connection with its purchase of hundreds of distressed mortgage loans and REO properties with nearly US$350 million in unpaid principal balances.

Admitted to Practice

Florida, 2004

District of Columbia, 2019

Education

BA, Economics, McGill University, cum laude, 2000

JD, University of Miami, School of Law, cum laude, 2004

Professional Associations and Memberships

Urban Land Institute (ULI), Hospitality and Recreational Development Council, Chair

Commercial Real Estate Committee, The Florida Bar

Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, The Florida Bar

Fidelity National Commercial Real Estate Council

Awards and Recognition

Chambers USA 2023: Leisure & Hospitality – Nationwide

Languages

English, French, Hebrew, Portuguese, Spanish

Citizenship

Canada

United States