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

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. I have actually been doing this for about 9 years now. We bought the brand name in 2016three unitsand I've grown it to 26. Prior to this, I have actually invested the majority of my career in hospitality in some shape or type. After a quick stint of attempting to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino property and worked in corporate finance.

I was the very first worker there after personal equity purchased the service. Assisted grow that from 20 to 150 areas, 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 replicate 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 mostly protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We also do salads, sandwiches. The secret to the program is we have a beverage element as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast throughout the day.

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A little more complex than a few of the walk-the-line concepts that are out there, but we think we have actually got something quite special. We're going to include another shop this year and a minimum of four shops next year. So we will be 31 approximately shops by the end of next year.

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Hey, everyone. It's fantastic to be with you again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at 4th. I have actually remained in this role for about six years. 4th, as a number of you understand, is a leading service provider of software application solutions to the restaurant and hospitality market. Our objective is to assist our consumers succeed in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and essentially offering them with tools they require to deliver their vision.

It's unusual to have companies that are cherished 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 incredible. I have actually just met a handful of brand names where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand name.

When you talk to customers about Chop Store, they enjoy the location. And to be able to take what is a relatively complex concept in terms of delivering a great experience for the client, and be able to grow that from a few shops to now north of 30 shops next yearit's remarkable.

We're going to talk about how to scale a dining establishment business. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has imagine taking one store, 2 shops, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into several states, and ultimately nationwide, even worldwide reach. It's not easy, specifically in today's environment.

It's not a simple time to drive profitability and development at the very same time. How do you scale it and make it effective? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale excellent groups?

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The very first concern I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this twice now in the restaurant industry. What are a few of the lessons you've learned? What has your experience been in terms of what it requires to truly drive success in expanding restaurants? Tell me a little about your path, what you experienced along the way, and possibly a few of the harder lessons you found out.

We talked a little bit before we started 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 business. To me, one of the key things, and I feel extremely lucky, is that both brands I've been included with are unique.

And there's absolutely nothing exactly like Chop Store in terms of what we're finishing with a big, varied menu. Many brands today are really singularly focused in regards to what they're offering from a food product. I seem like we began at an advantage with both brands by having something special that filled a niche no one else was doing.

Due to the fact that it's just harder to stand out when there are 10, 20, 50 principles within a two- or three-mile radius trying to do the specific very same thing. A lot of it begins with the brand name. Does your brand name have something distinct that nobody else is doing? That's unusual.

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

They don't know their breakeven sales. They don't understand how margin enhances as sales increase. They do not understand cash-on-cash returns. I've seen numerous business where the numbers just do not work. And yet individuals state: let's open 10 more. And I'll state: why? It does not earn money. Stop. You require to discover an idea that is distinct.

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If you don't have those 2 things, you shouldn't be building shops. Yeah, perhaps both? Since as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted three things: execution, brand name distinction, and financial practicality. You've got to start with execution. If you do not have an operating design that works, broadening it simply multiplies issues.

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Second, you need a compelling brand or special concept that resonates with consumers. And third, the mathematics has to work. If you do not comprehend your unit economics, your fixed and variable costs, you might be expanding blind and losing cash. Precisely. And another crucial lesson has to do with going into brand-new markets.

When we expanded to Dallas, I anticipated brand-new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. A lot of operators presume new markets will open at complete volume the first day. That nearly never ever occurs. And when the shops open slow, but you have actually signed leases and developed a financial model based upon higher volumes, you get overextended.