Strategic Expansion Milestones in 2026

Thank you. And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the discussion with Jason. Jason, how about I let you give the audience some info about your background and you can likewise inform them a little bit about Chop Store. And then 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 quick stint of trying to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino residential or commercial property and worked in corporate financing.

I was the very first staff member there after private equity bought business. Assisted 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 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. It is mostly protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We likewise do salads, sandwiches. The secret to the program is we have a beverage element also 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 principles that are out there, but we believe we have actually got something quite unique. We're going to include another shop this year and a minimum of 4 stores next year. So we will be 31 approximately shops by the end of next year.

Expansion Updates: Regional Developments for 2026

I have actually been in this role for about 6 years. 4th, as many of you understand, is a leading service provider of software application solutions to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our goal is to help our consumers be successful in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, handling stock, and basically supplying them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's unusual to have business that are cherished and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, among the reasons I was so ecstatic to have you join our session is the success at Zos was incredible. I have actually only met a handful of brands where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the exact same thing at Chop Shop. When you talk to clients about Chop Store, they love the location. They discuss its distinction. And to be able to take what is a relatively complex concept in terms of delivering a fantastic experience for the customer, and have the ability to grow that from a couple of stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's fantastic.

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

Labor is difficult. Stock costs remain high. It's not a simple time to drive success and growth at the very same time. We're happy to have you here today, Jason, since we're going to dig into that topic. The questions are going to be truly around: how do you grow a service? How do you scale it and make it effective? How do you reproduce early success? And from there, after we speak about your experience and the lessons you've found out, we 'd enjoy to then say: well, appearance, how could innovation assist? How can you utilize technology as a multiplier to reproduce early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale excellent groups? And last but not least, AI.

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The first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this two times now in the dining establishment market. What are some of the lessons you've discovered? What has your experience remained in terms of what it takes to truly drive success in expanding restaurants? Tell me a little about your path, what you experienced along the way, and possibly some of the harder lessons you discovered.

We talked a little bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I have actually got a post teed up to follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a service. To me, one of the key things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brand names I've been involved with are distinct.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Store in regards to what we're finishing with a big, varied menu. Most brand names today are really singularly focused in regards to what they're using from a foodstuff. I seem like we began at an advantage with both brand names by having something unique that filled a niche no one else was doing.

A lot of it starts with the brand name. Does your brand name have something distinct that no one else is doing?

Essential Strategies to Expanding Restaurant Brands

The second thingI originated from a financing background, so a great deal of my knowings are more finance and data-driven versus a lot of early startup restaurateurs who are innovative types. They like the food, they constructed the menu, they built the brand. I probably could not do that from scratch. However if you provided me something that has all those parts in location, I can take it from there and put the playbook in location.

They don't know their breakeven sales. They don't comprehend how margin improves as sales boost. I've seen so numerous business where the numbers just don't work.

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If you don't have those two things, you shouldn't be developing shops. Yeah, maybe both? Since as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted three things: execution, brand differentiation, and monetary practicality. You've got to start with execution. If you do not have an operating design that works, broadening it simply multiplies issues.

Expansion Updates: New Milestones for 2026

Second, you require an engaging brand or unique principle that resonates with clients. And another essential lesson is about getting in new markets.

When we broadened to Dallas, I expected brand-new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. A lot of operators presume new markets will open at full volume day one. That practically never ever occurs. And when the stores open sluggish, however you have actually signed leases and developed a monetary model based on higher volumes, you get overextended.