Overview

Adam Barnosky is a shareholder at the firm and Chair of the Restaurant & Hospitality Practice Group.

Adam brings a solutions-oriented approach to clients in the restaurant, hospitality, retail, and commercial real estate industries on land use, licensure, and regulatory compliance matters, in addition to representing clients in corporate transactions, commercial lease negotiations, real estate developments, and alcoholic beverage structure and licensing.

Adam's clients include multi-unit restaurant groups, luxury and boutique hotels, sports and entertainment venues, urban food halls, national retailers, commercial lenders, cannabis companies, and industry-recognized chefs and hospitality operators.  He also represents commercial real estate developers, real estate private equity firms and investment trusts (REIFs/REITs), and real estate portfolio and management companies.  

Adam regularly advocates for clients before state and municipal boards, including the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, Cannabis Control Commission, Massachusetts Gaming Commission, City of Boston Licensing Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals, as well as various government authorities across Massachusetts. He is a frequent speaker on restaurant, hospitality, and commercial real estate issues, and his insights have been featured in outlets such as The Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, and New England Real Estate Journal.

In 2018, Adam was appointed by Mayor Yvonne M. Spicer as the inaugural Chair of the Framingham Board of License Commissioners, which licenses and regulates businesses throughout the City, including hotels, restaurants, breweries, package stores, and entertainment facilities.  During his tenure, Adam led a comprehensive overhaul of the City's alcoholic beverages regulations and regularly interfaced with local officials, state representatives, and the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

Before joining RIW, Adam worked at a boutique Boston-area law firm and clerked for the Honorable Virginia M. Morgan of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Adam is a frequent contributor to The Industry, the Restaurant & Hospitality Practice Group's quarterly newsletter, and chairs Restaurant Trends, the annual signature event for Boston and New England's Restaurant & Hospitality Industry.

Associations & Organizations

  • State & Federal Bar Admissions (Massachusetts)
  • Member, Massachusetts Restaurant Association
  • Member, Massachusetts Lodging Association 
  • Member, Boston Bar Association
  • Member, National Association of Licensing and Compliance Professionals (NALCP) 

Honors & Awards

  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers, Land Use/Zoning (2024, 2025)
  • Graduate of the Boston Future Leaders Program, a 10-month leadership initiative by Harvard Business School and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, (2023)
  • Recognized by Boston Magazine as a Top Lawyer (Land-Use/Zoning) in the annual list of the Best Lawyers in Massachusetts, (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
  • Recognized as a Rising Star by Massachusetts Super Lawyers in the Corporate and Zoning/Land Use Categories: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020
  • Profiled in the Annual Cannabis Spotlight, New England Real Estate Journal (2017)

Education

J.D. New England Law 

B.S. Middle Tennessee State University 

Bar & Court Admission

  • Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Representative Matters

  • Served as lead zoning and development counsel for national sports and entertainment company in development of new 14,000 sq ft facility in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood.
  • Represented international capital management firm on alcoholic beverage and hotel licensure in conjunction with its $50MM+ acquisition of a landmark hotel in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood.
  • Represented real estate developer relative to commercial lease negotiations with restaurant operators in a new international five-star hotel in the City of Boston.
  • Served as associate counsel for corporate developer of proposed $1B luxury resort and casino.
  • Served as lead counsel for cannabis company in commercial leasing, permitting and regulatory approvals required for operation of a new retail and cultivation facilities in various locations in Massachusetts.
  • Served as corporate counsel to multi-state franchise operator relative the acquisitions and disposition of numerous locations and related corporate reorganization.
  • Represented national hotel operator and entertainment company in alcoholic beverages and entertainment licensing approvals for creation of new performing arts venue in Boston’s Seaport District.
  • Represented commercial real estate trust in the disposition of a multi-tenanted, mixed-use building to Boston University
  • Served as associate counsel for leading national clean energy company in obtaining land-use approvals for operations of a 5.8 mega-watt 213-acre solar facility in Massachusetts.
  • Advised historic country club operator in compliance with the Liquor Control Act in anticipation of national golf tournament
  • Represented an association of hotels and restaurants before the Town of Brookline’s Special Licensing Review Committee.
  • Served as corporate, leasing, and alcoholic beverage licensing counsel to dozens new and existing hotels, restaurants, breweries in the City of Boston and throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Publications

Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist: Massachusetts Restaurants United Webinar - Junk Fee Q&A with MRU, Hopdov & RIW, September 2025
  • Organizer and Introductory Remarks: 2025 Restaurant Trends Event, SPIN Boston (May 2025)
  • Judge/Panelist: MRA 2025 ProStart Invitational, Massachusetts Restaurant Association (February 2025)
  • Interview on Transaction Talk podcast: Restaurant and Liquor Licensing Transactions (September 2024)
  • Co-Chair and Introductory Remarks: 2024 Restaurant Trends Event, City Winery Boston (May 2024)
  • Presenter and Co-Chair: 28th Annual Restaurant Trends Event, City Winery Boston (September 2021)
  • Moderator: Re-Opening Guidance for the Massachusetts Restaurant Industry RIW Webinar (June 2020)
  • Speaker: Hospitality Law Primer, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (May 2020)
  • Speaker: Retail Considerations for the Cannabis Industry, National Retail Tenants Association, National Conference (September 2019)
  • Speaker: Hospitality Leasing Roundtable, National Retail Tenants Association, 2019 National Conference (September 2019)
  • Guest: Restaurant Real Estate and Commercial Leasing, Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast (May 2019)
  • Judge/Panelist: MRA 2019 ProStart Invitational, Massachusetts Restaurant Association (February 2019)
  • Speaker: Retail Considerations in the Emerging Cannabis Industry, National Retail Tenants Association, 2018 National Conference (September 2018)
  • Speaker: Restaurant & Hospitality Leasing, National Retail Tenants Association, 2018 National Conference (September 2018)
  • Speaker: Medical & Adult Use Cannabis in Massachusetts, MA Society of CPAs 2018 State Tax Conference (January 2018)
  • Moderator: Best Management Practices for Hotel Operators, Massachusetts Lodging Association (December 2017)
  • Panelist: Cannabis and Commercial Real Estate, New England Real Estate Journal (February 2017)
  • Guest: Restaurant & Hospitality Law, Radio Entrepreneurs (July 2016)