Steps to Scale a Restaurant Concept

And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, 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.

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. I have actually been doing this for about nine years now. We purchased the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. Prior to this, I've invested the majority of my profession in hospitality in some shape or kind. After a short stint of attempting to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino residential or commercial property and operated in corporate finance.

I was the very first staff member there after personal equity bought the organization. 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 reproduce the success we had at Zos, and we're off to a really excellent start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. It is primarily protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We likewise do salads, sandwiches. The key to the program is we have a beverage component too with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast throughout the day.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

Key Regional Shifts for 2026 Growth

Hey, everyone. It's fantastic to be with you again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at Fourth. I've remained in this function for about six years. Fourth, as a number of you understand, is a leading supplier of software services to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our objective is to assist our clients be effective in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and generally providing them with tools they require to deliver their vision.

It's uncommon to have business that are precious and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, among the reasons I was so fired up to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I've only met a handful of brand names where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the same thing at Chop Shop. When you talk with clients about Chop Shop, they enjoy the place. They discuss its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a relatively complicated idea in terms of delivering a fantastic experience for the customer, and have the ability to grow that from a couple of shops to now north of 30 stores next yearit's amazing.

We're going to speak about how to scale a restaurant business. Every restaurateur I ever talk to has imagine taking one shop, 2 shops, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, across the state, into numerous states, and ultimately national, even global reach. But it's challenging, specifically in today's environment.

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

Significant Market Shifts for 2026 Expansion

The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this two times now in the dining establishment industry. What are a few of the lessons you've found out? What has your experience been in terms of what it takes to truly drive success in expanding dining establishments? Inform me a little about your course, what you experienced along the way, and maybe some of the more difficult lessons you found out.

We talked a little bit before we started about LinkedIn, and I've got a post teed up to follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a business. To me, among the essential things, and I feel really fortunate, is that both brands I have actually been included with are unique.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Store in regards to what we're doing with a large, varied menu. Many brands today are really singularly focused in regards to what they're using from a food. I feel like we started at an advantage with both brands by having something special that filled a niche no one else was doing.

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

Comparing Franchise Models Against Market Data

The second thingI came 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 creative types. They love the food, they developed the menu, they developed the brand. I probably could not do that from scratch. But if you gave me something that has all those parts in location, I can take it from there and put the playbook in place.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

If you do not have those 2 things, you shouldn't be developing stores. Yeah, possibly both, right? Due to the fact that as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted three things: execution, brand differentiation, and monetary practicality. You have actually got to start with execution. If you do not have an operating model that works, broadening it simply multiplies issues.

How to Expand Your Restaurant Concept

Second, you require an engaging brand name or unique idea that resonates with clients. And third, the mathematics has to work. If you do not comprehend your system economics, your repaired and variable expenses, you may be expanding blind and losing cash. Exactly. And another key lesson is about getting in brand-new markets.

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