Paul Leongas | What Paul Leongas Looks for When Choosing a Commercial Tenant

Paul Leongas

Paul Leongas has been on both sides of the commercial lease. He ran restaurants for more than 25 years, which means he spent those years writing rent checks and watching how landlords operated. Now, as the principal behind Leongas Development Group and a portfolio of North Shore commercial properties, he is the one deciding who gets a lease. That experience as an operator changed how he evaluates tenants. He is not looking for the applicant with the highest credit score. He is looking for the one who shows up prepared, asks good questions, and has a realistic picture of what running a business in Park Ridge actually requires.

The Credit Report Is the Last Thing He Looks At

A credit report tells Paul Leongas something, but it does not tell him enough. What tells him more is how a business owner describes their last lease situation. If they are direct about a prior landlord and can explain specifically what worked and what did not, that registers as a positive signal. If they deflect questions about past locations or blame the space for a closure, that is a different kind of signal.

Paul Leongas looks at how a prospective tenant prepares for the initial conversation. Someone who brings a business plan, a realistic projection, and a list of questions has done the work. Someone who shows up with a vague concept and wants to see the space before discussing numbers is not as far along. This is not about being difficult. It is about finding operators who understand that a commercial lease is a serious, long-term commitment on both sides.

What a Business Plan Tells Him About the Operator

Paul Leongas asks for a business plan. Most prospective tenants know this going in, but the quality of what they bring varies. He is not looking for a polished presentation. He is looking for whether the operator has thought through the numbers -- specifically, the gap between projected revenue and actual fixed costs.

A restaurant operator who budgets correctly for food cost, labor, and rent as percentages of sales is thinking like a businessperson. One who has a revenue projection but no corresponding expense breakdown is not ready. The same standard applies to retail operators, service businesses, and any other tenant category. What Paul Leongas wants to see is evidence that the prospective tenant has spent time with an accountant, has looked at comparable operations, and has built a model that leaves room for a slow month.

He has seen too many operators walk in with optimistic projections and no contingency plan. When a space sits empty at month four, the optimism is gone but the lease remains.

Prior Landlord References Tell the Real Story

Paul Leongas calls prior landlords. Not always, but often enough that prospective tenants should expect it. What he is listening for is not whether the relationship was perfect. He understands that tenant-landlord relationships have friction. What he is listening for is whether the tenant communicated problems early, paid on schedule during slow periods, and maintained the space.

A tenant who paid late for two months during a hard year but called ahead and worked out a plan is not disqualifying. A tenant who went quiet and then left the space in poor condition is a problem. The difference is communication. Paul Leongas has been through enough in his own business to know that things go wrong. What separates good operators from poor ones is how they handle it when they do.

The One Question That Ends the Conversation Early

Near the end of every initial conversation, Paul Leongas asks a prospective tenant what their plan is if revenue is 30 percent below their first-year projection. The question is not designed to be harsh. It is designed to see whether the operator has thought about downside scenarios.

The operators who pause and walk him through an actual contingency -- reduced hours, adjusted staffing, renegotiated supplier terms -- are the ones he wants in his buildings. The ones who say something like "that will not happen" are telling him something important about how they think. He has been the operator in a hard year. He knows what that level of certainty looks like in practice.