Major Growth Milestones for 2026

Thank you. And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the discussion with Jason. So Jason, how about I let you provide the audience some information about your background and you can also tell them a bit about Chop Store. And then I'll let you take it from there, Clinton.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. We purchased the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. After a quick stint of trying to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment home and worked in business finance.

I was the very first staff member there after private equity purchased the service. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 locations, took it public in 2014, and after that left about a year and a half after going public to do this at Chop Store. My hope is that we can reproduce the success we had at Zos, and we're off to an actually excellent start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. It is mainly protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We also do salads, sandwiches. The key to the program is we have a beverage element as well 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 some of the walk-the-line concepts that are out there, however we think we have actually got something pretty special. We're going to add another store this year and a minimum of four stores next year. So we will be 31 or so shops by the end of next year.

National Success in Corporate Scaling

Hey, everybody. It's terrific to be with you again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at 4th. I have actually been in this role for about six years. 4th, as much of you know, is a leading company of software options to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our goal is to assist our clients succeed in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and essentially providing them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's unusual to have companies that are beloved and growing rapidly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, one of the factors I was so excited to have you join our session is the success at Zos was amazing. I have actually just met a handful of brand names where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the very same thing at Chop Store. When you speak with consumers about Chop Store, they like the place. They discuss its distinction. And to be able to take what is a relatively complex concept in regards to delivering a fantastic experience for the consumer, and be able 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 service. Every restaurateur I ever talk with has dreams of taking one shop, two shops, 5 stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into multiple states, and ultimately national, even international reach. It's not simple, especially in today's environment.

Labor is hard. Inventory expenses stay high. It's not a simple time to drive profitability and growth at the exact same time. We're thankful to have you here today, Jason, since we're going to dig into that topic. The concerns are going to be truly around: how do you grow a company? How do you scale it and make it effective? How do you duplicate early success? And from there, after we discuss your experience and the lessons you've learned, we 'd like to then state: well, look, how could technology help? How can you use innovation as a multiplier to reproduce early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale great groups? And last but not least, AI.

Top Benefits of Fast Casual Expansion in 2026

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

We talked a bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I have actually got a post teed as much as follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing an organization. To me, one of the key things, and I feel really lucky, is that both brands I've been involved with are special.

And there's nothing precisely like Chop Store in regards to what we're finishing with a large, varied menu. Most brands today are very singularly focused in regards to what they're using from a food item. I feel like we started at a benefit with both brand names by having something distinct that filled a niche no one else was doing.

Because it's simply more difficult to stick out when there are 10, 20, 50 ideas within a two- or three-mile radius attempting to do the precise same thing. A lot of it starts with the brand name. Does your brand name have something distinct that nobody else is doing? That's rare.

Regional Milestones in Corporate Scaling

The 2nd thingI originated from a finance background, so a great deal of my learnings are more financing and data-driven versus a great deal of early startup restaurateurs who are imaginative types. They love the food, they built the menu, they constructed the brand. I most likely couldn't do that from scratch. But if you offered me something that has all those parts in location, I can take it from there and put the playbook in place.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

If you do not have those 2 things, you shouldn't be building shops. Yeah, possibly both, right? Since as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name distinction, and financial practicality. You have actually got to begin with execution. If you don't have an operating design that works, broadening it just increases issues.

The Advantages of Restaurant Expansion in 2026

Second, you need a compelling brand name or distinct concept that resonates with clients. And third, the math has to work. If you don't comprehend your unit economics, your fixed and variable expenses, you might be broadening blind and losing cash. Precisely. And another crucial lesson is about going into new markets.

When we broadened to Dallas, I expected brand-new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. A lot of operators presume new markets will open at complete volume the first day. That nearly never ever occurs. And when the stores open sluggish, but you have actually signed leases and constructed a monetary model based upon higher volumes, you get overextended.