National Milestones in Brand Scaling

Thank you. And we likewise have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of Fourth, who will be moderating the discussion with Jason. Jason, how about I let you provide the audience some information about your background and you can also tell them a little bit about Chop Shop. 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 name in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. After a short stint of trying to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment property and worked in business financing.

I was the first staff member there after personal equity bought the service. Assisted 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 an actually good start.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

A little more complicated than some of the walk-the-line concepts that are out there, however we believe we have actually got something pretty special. We're going to include another shop this year and a minimum of 4 shops next year. So we will be 31 or so shops by the end of next year.

Corporate Growth Milestones in 2026

Hey, everyone. It's fantastic to be with you again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at Fourth. I have actually been in this role for about 6 years. 4th, as numerous of you know, is a leading service provider of software application solutions to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our objective is to help our clients succeed in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and generally supplying them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's uncommon to have companies that are beloved and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success year after year. Jason, among the factors I was so ecstatic to have you join our session is the success at Zos was fantastic. I have actually only met a handful of brand names where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand.

When you talk to consumers about Chop Shop, they enjoy the place. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complicated idea in terms of providing a great experience for the customer, and be able to grow that from a couple of shops to now north of 30 shops next yearit's amazing.

We're going to speak about how to scale a dining establishment business. Every restaurateur I ever talk with has imagine taking one shop, 2 shops, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, throughout the state, into numerous states, and ultimately national, even global reach. It's not simple, specifically 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 terrific groups?

Steps to Expand a Dining Brand

The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this twice now in the restaurant industry. What has your experience been in terms of what it takes to truly drive success in broadening dining establishments?

We talked a little bit before we started about LinkedIn, and I have actually got a post teed approximately follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing an organization. To me, one of the essential things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brands I have actually been included with are distinct.

And there's nothing exactly like Chop Store in regards to what we're finishing with a large, diverse menu. The majority of brand names today are really singularly focused in regards to what they're using from a food. I seem like we began at a benefit with both brand names by having something unique that filled a specific niche no one else was doing.

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

Key Tips to Growing Hospitality Brands

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 enjoy the food, they developed the menu, they built the brand.

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They do not understand how margin improves as sales increase. I have actually seen so numerous business where the numbers simply don't work.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

If you don't have those two things, you should not be constructing shops. Yeah, possibly both, right? Because as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted three things: execution, brand differentiation, and financial viability. You've got to begin with execution. If you do not have an operating model that works, expanding it simply increases problems.

Significant Regional Milestones Shaping 2026 Expansion

Second, you need a compelling brand name or unique idea that resonates with customers. And third, the math needs to work. If you do not understand your system economics, your repaired and variable expenses, you might be broadening blind and losing cash. Exactly. And another crucial lesson is about getting in new markets.

However when we expanded to Dallas, I expected new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. A lot of operators assume brand-new markets will open at complete volume day one. That practically never ever happens. And when the shops open sluggish, but you have actually signed leases and constructed a monetary design based upon higher volumes, you get overextended.