Major Growth Targets for 2026

And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the discussion with Jason. Jason, how about I let you give the audience some information about your background and you can likewise tell them a little bit about Chop Shop.

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 brief stint of trying to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment home and worked in corporate financing.

I was the very first worker there after personal equity purchased business. Assisted grow that from 20 to 150 places, 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 replicate the success we had at Zos, and we're off to an actually good 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 secret to the program is we have a drink element as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast all day.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

Significant Market Milestones for 2026 Expansion

Hey, everyone. It's excellent 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 6 years. 4th, as a number of you understand, is a leading company of software services to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our objective is to assist our consumers be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and generally supplying them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's rare to have business that are cherished and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success every 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 just satisfied a handful of brands 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 speak to customers about Chop Shop, they enjoy the place. They speak about its distinction. And to be able to take what is a relatively complicated principle in regards to 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 fantastic.

We're going to speak about how to scale a dining establishment company. Every restaurateur I ever talk to has imagine taking one store, 2 stores, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into numerous states, and eventually national, even international reach. It's not easy, especially in today's environment.

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

Top Benefits of Restaurant Expansion in 2026

The first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this two times now in the dining establishment industry. What has your experience been in terms of what it takes to actually drive success in broadening dining establishments?

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 business. To me, one of the key things, and I feel very lucky, is that both brand names I have actually been involved with are distinct.

And there's nothing precisely like Chop Shop in regards to what we're doing with a big, varied menu. Most brands today are very singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a food. I seem like we started at a benefit with both brands by having something unique that filled a specific niche nobody else was doing.

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

Significant Market Shifts for 2026 Growth

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

They don't know their breakeven sales. They do not comprehend how margin improves as sales increase. I've seen so lots of companies where the numbers just do not work.

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If you do not have those two things, you shouldn't be developing shops. Because as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand distinction, and monetary viability.

How to Expand a Restaurant Brand

Second, you need an engaging brand name or distinct concept that resonates with clients. And third, the mathematics has to work. If you do not understand your unit economics, your fixed and variable costs, you might be broadening blind and losing money. Precisely. And another essential lesson has to do with getting in brand-new markets.

However when we expanded to Dallas, I anticipated new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. A lot of operators presume brand-new markets will open at complete volume the first day. That almost never happens. And when the stores open slow, however you have actually signed leases and constructed a financial model based upon higher volumes, you get overextended.