Fast Casual Market Share Trends

Thank you. And we likewise 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 likewise inform them a little bit about Chop Shop. And then I'll let you take it from there, Clinton.

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. I have actually been doing this for about 9 years now. We purchased the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. Prior to this, I've spent the majority of my career 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 gambling establishment residential or commercial property and worked in business finance.

I was the very first employee there after personal equity bought the service. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 places, took it public in 2014, and after that 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 excellent start.

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

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A little more complicated than some of the walk-the-line principles that are out there, however we believe we've got something quite special. We're going to add another store this year and at least four stores next year. So we will be 31 or two stores by the end of next year.

The Advantages of Restaurant Expansion in 2026

Hey, everybody. It's terrific to be with you once again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at 4th. I've been in this role for about six years. Fourth, as much of you understand, is a leading provider of software application options to the dining establishment and hospitality market. Our objective is to help our consumers achieve success in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and basically providing them with tools they need to provide their vision.

It's uncommon to have business that are cherished and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, among the reasons I was so ecstatic to have you join our session is the success at Zos was amazing. I have actually just met a handful of brands where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand.

When you talk to customers about Chop Shop, they love the place. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complex principle in terms of delivering an excellent experience for the customer, and be able to grow that from a couple of stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's incredible.

We're going to discuss how to scale a dining establishment company. Every restaurateur I ever talk with has dreams of taking one shop, 2 shops, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into several states, and ultimately nationwide, even international reach. It's not simple, specifically in today's environment.

Labor is hard. Inventory expenses stay high. It's not an easy time to drive profitability and growth at the very same time. We're grateful to have you here today, Jason, because we're going to dig into that subject. The concerns are going to be truly around: how do you grow a company? How do you scale it and make it successful? How do you duplicate early success? And from there, after we speak about your experience and the lessons you've learned, we 'd love to then say: well, look, how could innovation help? How can you utilize technology as a multiplier to reproduce early success to significant success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale excellent teams? And finally, AI.

Steps to Scale Your Dining Brand

The first concern I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this twice 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 dining establishments? Tell me a little about your path, what you experienced along the way, and maybe some of the more difficult lessons you found out.

We talked a little bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I've got a post teed approximately follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a service. To me, one of the crucial things, and I feel very lucky, is that both brands I have actually been involved with are distinct.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Shop in regards to what we're making with a large, varied menu. Most brand names today are extremely singularly focused in terms of what they're offering from a foodstuff. I feel like we started at a benefit with both brands by having something unique that filled a niche no one else was doing.

Since it's just harder to stick out when there are 10, 20, 50 principles within a 2- or three-mile radius trying to do the exact very same thing. So a lot of it starts with the brand. Does your brand have something unique that no one else is doing? That's unusual.

Fast Casual Market Share Trends for 2026

The second thingI came from a financing background, so a lot of my learnings are more financing and data-driven versus a lot of early startup restaurateurs who are imaginative types. They enjoy the food, they constructed the menu, they developed the brand name.

They don't know their breakeven sales. They don't understand how margin enhances as sales boost. They don't understand cash-on-cash returns. I have actually seen many business where the numbers just do not work. And yet people say: let's open 10 more. And I'll state: why? It does not generate income. Stop. You require to find a concept that is special.

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If you do not have those two things, you should not be building shops. Since as I hear your description, you've highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name distinction, and financial viability.

Regional Success in Brand Scaling

Second, you require an engaging brand name or distinct principle that resonates with consumers. And another key lesson is about getting in new markets.

When we expanded to Dallas, I anticipated brand-new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too numerous operators assume brand-new markets will open at complete volume day one.