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Thank you. And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. So Jason, how about I let you give the audience some information about your background and you can also tell them a bit about Chop Shop. And then I'll let you take it from there, Clinton.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. We bought the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. After a brief stint of trying to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment home and worked in business finance.

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

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. It is mainly protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We likewise do salads, sandwiches. The secret to the program is we have a beverage component too with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast all the time.

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A little more complex than a few of the walk-the-line concepts that are out there, but we believe we have actually got something pretty unique. We're going to include another store this year and a minimum of four stores next year. We will be 31 or so stores by the end of next year.

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I have actually been in this function for about six years. 4th, as numerous of you know, is a leading provider of software options to the restaurant and hospitality market. Our goal is to assist our clients be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and essentially providing them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's unusual to have business that are cherished and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success every year. Jason, among the factors I was so ecstatic to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I've only met a handful of brands where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the same thing at Chop Shop. When you speak to clients about Chop Shop, they love the location. They speak about its distinction. And to be able to take what is a relatively complex principle in regards to delivering a terrific experience for the consumer, and be able to grow that from a few shops to now north of 30 shops next yearit's amazing.

We're going to discuss how to scale a dining establishment service. Every restaurateur I ever talk to has dreams of taking one shop, 2 stores, five shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into multiple states, and eventually national, even worldwide reach. But it's hard, especially in today's environment.

Labor is difficult. Stock costs stay high. It's not a simple time to drive profitability and growth at the exact same time. We're grateful to have you here today, Jason, due to the fact that we're going to dig into that subject. The questions are going to be really around: how do you grow a company? How do you scale it and make it successful? How do you duplicate early success? And from there, after we discuss your experience and the lessons you've found out, we 'd like to then state: well, appearance, how could technology help? How can you utilize innovation as a multiplier to reproduce early success to significant success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale fantastic teams? And last but not least, AI.

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The first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this twice now in the restaurant market. What are a few of the lessons you've discovered? What has your experience been in regards to what it takes to really drive success in broadening restaurants? Tell me a little about your course, what you experienced along the way, and possibly some of the more difficult lessons you learned.

We talked a bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I've got a post teed approximately follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a service. To me, among the essential things, and I feel very lucky, is that both brand names I've been included with are unique.

And there's nothing precisely like Chop Store in terms of what we're finishing with a big, diverse menu. The majority of brands today are very singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a foodstuff. I seem like we began at a benefit with both brands by having something special that filled a niche nobody else was doing.

Due to the fact that it's simply more difficult to stand out when there are 10, 20, 50 ideas within a two- or three-mile radius attempting to do the specific very same thing. So a lot of it begins with the brand. Does your brand have something special that nobody else is doing? That's rare.

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

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They don't comprehend how margin improves as sales boost. They don't understand cash-on-cash returns. I have actually seen a lot of business where the numbers simply don't work. And yet people state: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It doesn't generate income. Stop. You require to find an idea that is unique.

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If you don't have those two things, you should not be developing shops. Yeah, possibly both? Because as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted three things: execution, brand name differentiation, and financial viability. You have actually got to begin with execution. If you don't have an operating design that works, broadening it just increases issues.

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Second, you need a compelling brand name or distinct idea that resonates with consumers. And another crucial lesson is about going into new markets.

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