Key Market Shifts for 2026 Growth

Thank you. And we likewise 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 details about your background and you can likewise inform them a bit about Chop Store. And after that 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've grown it to 26. After a short stint of trying to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment property and worked in corporate finance.

I was the first worker there after private equity bought the organization. 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 reproduce the success we had at Zos, and we're off to a really good 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 drink component as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast all day.

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A little more complicated than some of the walk-the-line ideas that are out there, however we think we have actually got something quite unique. We're going to add another shop this year and at least four shops next year. So 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. Fourth, as many of you know, is a leading service provider of software solutions to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our goal is to assist our customers be effective in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and basically offering them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's rare to have business that are beloved and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, one of the reasons I was so excited 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 client affinity for the brand.

And now you're doing the same thing at Chop Store. When you speak to customers about Chop Store, they like the location. They discuss its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a relatively complicated concept in terms of providing a terrific experience for the customer, and have the ability to grow that from a couple of stores to now north of 30 shops next yearit's incredible.

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

Labor is difficult. Inventory expenses remain high. It's not an easy time to drive success and development at the same time. We're thankful to have you here today, Jason, due to the fact that we're going to dig into that subject. The concerns are going to be actually around: how do you grow a business? How do you scale it and make it successful? How do you reproduce 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 assist? How can you utilize technology as a multiplier to replicate early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale terrific teams? And lastly, AI.

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The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this twice now in the restaurant industry. What are some of the lessons you've learned? What has your experience remained in regards to what it requires to really drive success in expanding dining establishments? Inform me a little about your path, what you experienced along the method, 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 crucial things, and I feel very lucky, is that both brands I have actually been included with are special.

And there's nothing exactly like Chop Store in terms of what we're making with a large, varied menu. A lot of brand names today are really singularly focused in terms of what they're providing from a foodstuff. I seem like we began at an advantage with both brand names by having something special that filled a niche nobody else was doing.

Due to the fact that it's just more difficult to stand out when there are 10, 20, 50 concepts within a 2- or three-mile radius attempting to do the specific same thing. A lot of it starts with the brand name. Does your brand name have something distinct that no one else is doing? That's unusual.

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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 like the food, they developed the menu, they built the brand name.

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They do not comprehend how margin enhances as sales increase. They don't understand cash-on-cash returns. I've seen many companies where the numbers just don't work. And yet individuals state: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It doesn't earn money. Stop. You require to find a principle that is special.

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If you do not have those 2 things, you should not be developing stores. Because as I hear your description, you've highlighted three things: execution, brand name differentiation, and monetary viability.

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Second, you need an engaging brand or unique principle that resonates with consumers. And another essential lesson is about going into new markets.

When we expanded to Dallas, I expected new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too many operators presume brand-new markets will open at full volume day one.