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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 also inform them a little bit about Chop Shop.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. We bought 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 casino property and worked in corporate finance.

I was the first staff member there after private equity purchased the business. 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 replicate the success we had at Zos, and we're off to a really great start.

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

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A little more complex than a few of the walk-the-line principles that are out there, however we believe we have actually got something quite unique. We're going to add another shop this year and a minimum of four stores next year. So we will be 31 or two stores by the end of next year.

Quick Service Industry Trends

I've been in this role for about 6 years. 4th, as numerous of you know, is a leading service provider of software services to the restaurant and hospitality market. Our objective is to help our clients be effective in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, handling stock, and generally supplying them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's uncommon to have companies that are precious and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success year after year. Jason, one of the reasons I was so thrilled to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I've just fulfilled 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 to clients about Chop Store, they love the place. They speak about its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a relatively complex concept in regards to providing a great experience for the customer, and have the ability to grow that from a couple of stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to speak about how to scale a restaurant business. Every restaurateur I ever talk with has imagine taking one shop, two shops, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across 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 a simple time to drive profitability and growth at the very same time. How do you scale it and make it effective? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale fantastic groups?

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The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this two times now in the dining establishment market. What are some of the lessons you've learned? What has your experience been in regards to what it requires to really drive success in expanding restaurants? Tell me a little about your path, what you experienced along the way, and possibly a few of the more difficult lessons you found out.

We talked a bit before we started about LinkedIn, and I've got a post teed approximately follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing an organization. To me, among the crucial things, and I feel very fortunate, is that both brand names I've been included with are distinct.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Shop in regards to what we're finishing with a large, varied menu. A lot of brand names today are really singularly focused in regards to what they're offering from a food item. I seem like we started at an advantage with both brands by having something distinct that filled a niche nobody else was doing.

Because it's simply harder to stick out when there are 10, 20, 50 ideas within a 2- or three-mile radius trying to do the exact same thing. A lot of it begins with the brand. Does your brand name have something special that no one else is doing? That's rare.

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The 2nd thingI originated from a financing background, so a lot of my learnings are more financing and data-driven versus a great deal of early start-up restaurateurs who are innovative types. They like the food, they constructed the menu, they developed the brand. I probably couldn't do that from scratch. But if you provided me something that has all those elements in place, I can take it from there and put the playbook in location.

They don't understand their breakeven sales. They do not understand how margin enhances as sales increase. They don't understand cash-on-cash returns. I've seen numerous companies where the numbers just don't work. And yet people state: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It does not generate income. Stop. You need to discover a concept that is special.

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If you do not have those 2 things, you should not be building stores. Yeah, perhaps both? Because 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 do not have an operating model that works, expanding it simply increases issues.

Regional Success in Brand Scaling

Second, you require a compelling brand name or distinct idea that resonates with consumers. And another essential lesson is about entering new markets.

When we expanded to Dallas, I expected new shops 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 almost never happens. And when the shops open sluggish, but you have actually signed leases and constructed a monetary model based on greater volumes, you get overextended.