Strategic Expansion Targets for 2026

And we also 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 details about your background and you can likewise tell them a little bit about Chop Shop.

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. I've been doing this for about 9 years now. We purchased the brand name in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. Prior to this, I have actually invested the majority of my profession in hospitality in some shape or type. After a short stint of attempting to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment property and worked in business finance.

I was the first worker there after personal equity bought business. 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 Store. My hope is that we can duplicate 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. The secret to the program is we have a beverage element as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

Hospitality Industry Trends Redefining 2026

Hey, everybody. It's excellent to be with you once again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at Fourth. I have actually been in this role for about 6 years. Fourth, as a lot of you understand, is a leading company of software application solutions to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our goal is to help our customers be successful in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, handling stock, and basically providing them with tools they need to provide their vision.

It's uncommon to have business that are precious and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success every year. Jason, one of the reasons I was so ecstatic to have you join our session is the success at Zos was fantastic. I've only satisfied a handful of brand names where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand.

And now you're doing the exact same thing at Chop Shop. When you talk with clients about Chop Shop, they like the location. They speak about its distinction. And to be able to take what is a fairly complicated principle in regards to providing a terrific experience for the client, and have the ability to grow that from a couple of shops to now north of 30 stores next yearit's incredible.

We're going to talk about how to scale a restaurant company. Every restaurateur I ever speak to has dreams of taking one store, two shops, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into multiple states, and ultimately national, even worldwide reach. It's not simple, specifically in today's environment.

Labor is difficult. Stock costs remain high. It's not an easy time to drive success and development at the very same time. But we're glad 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 really around: how do you grow a service? How do you scale it and make it effective? How do you reproduce early success? And from there, after we speak about your experience and the lessons you've found out, we 'd like to then say: well, look, how could innovation assist? How can you utilize technology as a multiplier to reproduce early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale terrific teams? And lastly, AI.

Best Franchise Prospects to Watch

The very first concern I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this twice now in the restaurant market. What are a few of the lessons you've found out? What has your experience been in regards to what it requires to actually drive success in broadening dining establishments? Tell me a little about your path, what you experienced along the way, and possibly a few of the harder lessons you discovered.

We talked a little bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I've got a post teed as much as follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a company. To me, one of the key things, and I feel really fortunate, is that both brand names I've been included with are distinct.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Store in terms of what we're making with a large, diverse menu. Many brand names today are very singularly focused in terms of what they're offering from a food item. I seem like we began at an advantage with both brands by having something distinct that filled a specific niche no one else was doing.

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

Strategic Expansion Milestones for 2026

The 2nd thingI came from a finance 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 developed the brand.

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They do not understand how margin improves as sales increase. I've seen so numerous companies where the numbers simply do not work.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

If you don't have those two things, you should not be constructing shops. Yeah, maybe both? Because as I hear your description, you've highlighted 3 things: execution, brand differentiation, and monetary viability. You've got to begin with execution. If you do not have an operating model that works, expanding it simply increases issues.

Significant Regional Milestones for 2026 Growth

Second, you require a compelling brand name or distinct idea that resonates with customers. And another crucial lesson is about getting in brand-new markets.

When we broadened to Dallas, I anticipated new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. A lot of operators presume new markets will open at full volume the first day. That nearly never ever occurs. And when the shops open slow, but you've signed leases and built a financial model based on greater volumes, you get overextended.