Key Market Shifts Shaping 2026 Growth

Thank you. And we likewise have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. Jason, how about I let you provide the audience some details about your background and you can likewise inform them a little bit about Chop Store. And after that I'll let you take it from there, Clinton.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. We purchased the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. After a brief stint of attempting to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment residential or commercial property and worked in corporate financing.

I was the very first staff member there after private equity purchased business. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 areas, took it public in 2014, and after that left about a year and a half after going public to do this at Chop Shop. My hope is that we can reproduce the success we had at Zos, and we're off to an actually great start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. The secret to the program is we have a drink component as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes.

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A little more complicated than some of the walk-the-line principles that are out there, however we believe we have actually got something pretty unique. We're going to include another shop this year and a minimum of 4 shops next year. So we will be 31 or so stores by the end of next year.

Key Tips to Growing Restaurant Brands

I've been in this role for about six years. 4th, as many of you understand, is a leading company of software application solutions to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our objective is to help our consumers be successful in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, handling stock, and basically providing them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's rare to have companies that are cherished and growing rapidly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, among the factors I was so excited to have you join our session is the success at Zos was incredible. I have actually only fulfilled a handful of brands where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand.

And now you're doing the same thing at Chop Store. When you speak with consumers about Chop Store, they like the location. They discuss its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complex principle in terms of delivering a fantastic experience for the customer, and have the ability to grow that from a few stores to now north of 30 shops next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to discuss how to scale a restaurant business. Every restaurateur I ever talk with has imagine taking one shop, 2 shops, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, throughout the state, into numerous states, and eventually national, even international reach. However it's difficult, specifically in today's environment.

It's not a simple time to drive success and development at the very same time. How do you scale it and make it successful? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale terrific teams?

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The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this twice now in the restaurant industry. What has your experience been in terms of what it takes to really drive success in expanding dining establishments?

We talked a bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I have actually got a post teed approximately follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing an organization. To me, one of the essential things, and I feel very fortunate, is that both brands I have actually been involved with are special.

And there's nothing precisely like Chop Shop in terms of what we're finishing with a big, diverse menu. The majority of brand names today are very singularly focused in terms of what they're using from a food product. I feel like we started at a benefit with both brands by having something unique that filled a specific niche nobody else was doing.

Since it's just harder to stand apart when there are 10, 20, 50 concepts within a 2- or three-mile radius attempting to do the exact very same thing. So a great deal of it begins with the brand. Does your brand have something special that nobody else is doing? That's uncommon.

Expansion News: Regional Milestones for 2026

The second thingI came from a financing background, so a lot of my learnings are more finance and data-driven versus a lot of early startup restaurateurs who are creative types. They love the food, they built the menu, they developed the brand name.

They do not know their breakeven sales. They do not comprehend how margin enhances as sales increase. They don't understand cash-on-cash returns. I have actually seen a lot of business where the numbers just don't work. And yet individuals state: let's open 10 more. And I'll state: why? It does not generate income. Stop. You require to discover a concept that is special.

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If you do not have those two things, you shouldn't be building stores. Because as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted three things: execution, brand distinction, and financial viability.

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Second, you require an engaging brand name or special concept that resonates with clients. And 3rd, the math needs to work. If you don't comprehend your system economics, your repaired and variable expenses, you might be broadening blind and losing money. Precisely. And another key lesson has to do with getting in brand-new markets.

When we broadened to Dallas, I expected new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too lots of operators assume new markets will open at complete volume day one.