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And we likewise have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of Fourth, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. Jason, how about I let you give the audience some info about your background and you can also inform them a little bit about Chop Shop.

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 accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino property and worked in corporate finance.

I was the first worker there after private equity purchased business. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 places, 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. 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 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 think we've got something quite unique. We're going to add another shop this year and at least 4 stores next year. So we will be 31 approximately shops by the end of next year.

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I've been in this role for about 6 years. Fourth, as numerous of you know, is a leading service provider of software application services to the dining establishment and hospitality market. Our objective is to help our customers be effective in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and essentially offering them with tools they need to provide their vision.

It's uncommon to have companies that are precious and growing quickly, 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 fantastic. I have actually just fulfilled a handful of brand names where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand name.

When you talk to customers about Chop Shop, they love the location. And to be able to take what is a fairly complicated principle in terms of providing a great experience for the customer, and be able to grow that from a few stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's remarkable.

We're going to talk about how to scale a restaurant service. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has imagine taking one store, 2 stores, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, throughout the state, into multiple states, and ultimately nationwide, even international reach. However it's hard, especially in today's environment.

Labor is difficult. Inventory expenses remain high. It's not a simple time to drive profitability and development at the very same time. We're delighted to have you here today, Jason, because we're going to dig into that subject. The concerns are going to be really around: how do you grow a business? How do you scale it and make it effective? How do you replicate early success? And from there, after we discuss your experience and the lessons you've discovered, we 'd enjoy to then state: well, appearance, how could innovation help? How can you utilize innovation as a multiplier to reproduce early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale terrific teams? And finally, AI.

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The first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this twice now in the restaurant industry. What are some of the lessons you've learned? What has your experience been in regards to what it requires to actually drive success in broadening restaurants? Tell me a little about your course, what you experienced along the method, and perhaps a few of the harder lessons you found out.

We talked a bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I have actually got a post teed as much as follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a business. To me, among the crucial things, and I feel really lucky, is that both brands I have actually been included with are unique.

And there's nothing exactly like Chop Shop in regards to what we're finishing with a big, diverse menu. Most brands today are very singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a foodstuff. I feel like we started at a benefit with both brands by having something special that filled a specific niche nobody else was doing.

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

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

They don't know their breakeven sales. They do not understand how margin improves as sales boost. I've seen so many companies where the numbers simply don't work.

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If you do not have those 2 things, you shouldn't be building stores. Yeah, possibly both? Due to the fact that as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted three things: execution, brand differentiation, and financial viability. You've got to start with execution. If you don't have an operating model that works, broadening it just multiplies problems.

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Second, you need an engaging brand or special concept that resonates with clients. And another key lesson is about entering new markets.

However when we broadened to Dallas, I anticipated brand-new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. A lot of operators assume brand-new markets will open at full volume day one. That almost never takes place. And when the shops open sluggish, however you have actually signed leases and built a financial model based on greater volumes, you get overextended.