Hughes Marino

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of Pannikin Coffee & Tea

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a community-focused café that roasts our own coffee, bakes in-house, and serves thoughtfully sourced coffee and tea.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Hughes Marino to accomplish?

• Represent us exclusively as a tenant to renegotiate our existing lease and expansion with a strategy that protected our interests and eliminated landlord-biased conflicts of interest.
• Secure materially better financial and operational lease terms, including rent reductions, tenant improvement allowances, and flexibility aligned with our long-term growth plans.
• Provide expert commercial real estate guidance across site selection, negotiation, and legal review to minimize risk and maximize value.

SOLUTION

How did you find Hughes Marino?

Referral

Why did you select Hughes Marino over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Hughes Marino were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Hughes Marino provided comprehensive tenant representation and strategic advisory services related to our commercial real estate needs. The scope of work included evaluating our space requirements, advising on market conditions, and representing our interests throughout the site selection and negotiation process.

Key deliverables included:

Strategic guidance on commercial real estate options aligned with our business goals

Market research and analysis, including comparable properties and lease terms
Site selection support and evaluation of potential locations
Lease negotiation and financial analysis to secure favorable terms
Ongoing advocacy, communication, and coordination through execution

Throughout the engagement, Hughes Marino acted as a dedicated advocate on our behalf, offering clear, data-driven recommendations and managing a complex process with professionalism and transparency. Their expertise helped streamline decision-making and ensured our interests were protected at every stage.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Hughes Marino delivered clear, data-driven guidance that helped us make confident real estate decisions. The project resulted in improved lease terms, cost savings compared to market benchmarks, and a smoother negotiation process. Their expertise reduced risk, improved timeline efficiency, and ensured alignment with our long-term business goals.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Hughes Marino’s project management was highly organized, proactive, and transparent throughout the process. They consistently delivered items on time (often ahead of schedule) and kept us informed at every stage with clear timelines, regular updates, and thoughtful guidance. Their team was extremely responsive to our needs, quick to address questions or changes, and always acted in our best interest. We felt well-supported and confident knowing they were managing details, advocating for us, and anticipating issues before they arose.

What was your primary form of communication with Hughes Marino?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Hughes Marino truly operates as an extension of our team. Their tenant-only focus, transparency, and genuine care for the client experience set them apart. We felt fully supported throughout the process, and their expertise gave us confidence at every decision point. They balance professionalism with a very human, relationship-first approach. They were proactive, detail-oriented, and genuinely invested in helping us make the right decisions. We’d highly recommend them.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Hughes Marino could have done differently?

We were very happy with the process and the outcome. Nothing stands out as something they should have done differently—any small challenges were navigated smoothly and collaboratively.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner and chair of the real estate department at Procopio, Corey, Hargreaves and Savitch LLP, an AMLaw 200 law firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hughes Marino?

We needed to modernize our firm's use of office space for the post-COVID-19 work structure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hughes Marino is our broker for finding new office space and enhancing our existing office space to better fit our needs. The team has helped us find great office space and has given us tremendous insight and valuable guidance on how to best use that space to fit our needs and goals.

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 teammates from Hughes Marino.

How did you come to work with Hughes Marino?

Someone referred Hughes Marino to me. I chose them over other options because they had high ratings, a great culture fit, and company values aligned with ours.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2025, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We're currently in the negotiation stages, but we feel very good about the direction of the project. We've received favorable offers, and Hughes Marino is helping ensure efficiency, cost savings, and employee satisfaction. For example, they've found solutions that will result in monetary savings while creating spaces that will draw employees back into the office and otherwise better our office space.

How did Hughes Marino perform from a project management standpoint?

So far, Hughes Marino has delivered on time. We communicate via in-person meetings, virtual meetings, and email or messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hughes Marino has deep market and industry knowledge and is extremely creative.

Are there any areas they could improve?

So far, they've exceeded our expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the VP of operations at an AI computer company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hughes Marino?

We needed help finding a location for our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hughes Marino has found locations for us, scoped the tenant improvements, managed contractors and bids, and ensured all work was done correctly and according to the plan. The team has been very involved in all aspects of the project.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with 2–5 teammates from Hughes Marino.

How did you come to work with Hughes Marino?

We've known Hughes Marino for 20 years. We've used them to find a handful of places over the years. We chose them because there was no conflict between buyers and sellers' agents, and we knew we'd get the best deal because they don't work with landlords and aren't beholden to them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from June–July 2025.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Hughes Marino has been awesome to deal with. The team has delivered on time and on budget.

How did Hughes Marino perform from a project management standpoint?

Hughes Marino has a great team and great project managers. We communicate in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hughes Marino makes the process easy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on.