Hospitality Sector Shifts Shaping 2026

And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. Jason, how about I let you offer the audience some details about your background and you can likewise tell them a little bit about Chop Store.

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 attempting to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino home and worked in corporate financing.

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

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

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A little more complex than a few of the walk-the-line principles that are out there, but we think we have actually got something pretty unique. We're going to include another store this year and at least 4 stores next year. We will be 31 or so stores by the end of next year.

Expansion News: Regional Developments for 2026

I've been in this function for about 6 years. Fourth, as numerous of you understand, is a leading company of software services to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our goal is to help our customers be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, handling inventory, and essentially providing them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's unusual to have companies that are beloved and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success every year. Jason, one of the reasons I was so fired up to have you join our session is the success at Zos was amazing. I've only satisfied a handful of brands where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand.

When you talk to customers about Chop Shop, they love the place. And to be able to take what is a fairly complex idea in terms of providing a terrific experience for the customer, and be able to grow that from a couple of stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's amazing.

We're going to talk about how to scale a restaurant organization. Every restaurateur I ever speak to has imagine taking one shop, two stores, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, throughout the state, into numerous states, and eventually national, even international reach. It's not simple, especially in today's environment.

It's not an easy time to drive success and development at the same time. How do you scale it and make it successful? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale fantastic teams?

Comparing Franchise ROI Against Market Trends

The first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this two times now in the restaurant industry. What are a few of the lessons you've found out? What has your experience remained in terms of what it takes to really drive success in expanding restaurants? Inform me a little about your course, what you experienced along the method, and perhaps a few of the more difficult lessons you found out.

We talked a little bit before we started about LinkedIn, and I've got a post teed approximately follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a business. To me, among the essential things, and I feel really fortunate, is that both brand names I have actually been involved with are unique.

And there's nothing precisely like Chop Shop in terms of what we're making with a big, diverse menu. The majority of brand names today are really singularly focused in terms of what they're providing from a food. I seem like we started at a benefit with both brands by having something distinct that filled a niche no one else was doing.

Due to the fact that it's simply more difficult to stand apart when there are 10, 20, 50 principles within a 2- or three-mile radius trying to do the precise very same thing. A lot of it begins with the brand. Does your brand have something unique that no one else is doing? That's unusual.

Expansion Updates: Regional Milestones for 2026

The 2nd thingI came from a financing background, so a lot of my learnings are more finance and data-driven versus a lot of early start-up restaurateurs who are imaginative types. They love the food, they constructed the menu, they built the brand.

They don't know their breakeven sales. They do not comprehend how margin enhances as sales increase. I have actually seen so lots of companies where the numbers just don't work.

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If you don't have those 2 things, you shouldn't be developing shops. Yeah, possibly both, right? Since as I hear your description, you've highlighted three things: execution, brand distinction, and financial viability. You have actually got to start with execution. If you do not have an operating model that works, broadening it just increases issues.

Fast Casual Market Share Growth

Second, you need an engaging brand name or special concept that resonates with consumers. And third, the math needs to work. If you don't understand your unit economics, your repaired and variable costs, you might be broadening blind and losing cash. Precisely. And another essential lesson is about getting in brand-new markets.

But when we broadened to Dallas, I expected brand-new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. A lot of operators assume new markets will open at full volume day one. That nearly never happens. And when the shops open sluggish, however you've signed leases and constructed a financial design based on higher volumes, you get overextended.