Profitable Business Investments Coming in 2026

Thank you. And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. Jason, how about I let you offer the audience some information about your background and you can also tell them a little bit about Chop Shop. And after that I'll let you take it from there, Clinton.

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. I have actually 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 career in hospitality in some shape or type. After a brief stint of attempting to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino residential or commercial property and operated in business financing.

I was the first worker there after personal equity bought business. 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 Store. My hope is that we can duplicate 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 secret to the program is we have a drink part 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 concepts that are out there, but we believe we've got something quite unique. We're going to include another shop this year and at least 4 stores next year. So we will be 31 or so shops by the end of next year.

Expansion News: Regional Developments in 2026

I have actually been in this role for about 6 years. Fourth, as numerous of you understand, is a leading company of software solutions to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our objective is to assist our clients be effective in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and generally supplying them with tools they need to provide their vision.

It's uncommon to have companies that are cherished and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success year after year. Jason, among the factors I was so fired up to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I have actually just fulfilled a handful of brands where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the very same thing at Chop Shop. When you talk with consumers about Chop Store, they love the location. They speak about its distinction. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complex idea in regards to providing a fantastic experience for the consumer, and have the ability to grow that from a couple of shops to now north of 30 shops next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to discuss how to scale a dining establishment company. Every restaurateur I ever speak to has imagine taking one store, two shops, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, across the state, into numerous states, and ultimately national, even international reach. But it's hard, particularly in today's environment.

It's not an easy time to drive profitability and development at the same time. How do you scale it and make it successful? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale excellent teams?

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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 industry. What are a few of the lessons you've found out? 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 method, and possibly some of the more difficult lessons you discovered.

We talked a 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 company. To me, one of the key things, and I feel really lucky, is that both brands I've been included with are distinct.

And there's nothing precisely like Chop Store in regards to what we're finishing with a large, diverse menu. Many brands today are very singularly focused in terms of what they're providing from a food. I seem like we started at a benefit with both brands by having something distinct that filled a niche no one else was doing.

Because it's just more difficult to stand apart when there are 10, 20, 50 principles within a two- or three-mile radius trying to do the exact very same thing. So a great deal of it begins with the brand name. Does your brand have something unique that nobody else is doing? That's rare.

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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 built the menu, they constructed the brand name.

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

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If you don't have those 2 things, you should not be building shops. Yeah, perhaps both? Due to the fact that as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand distinction, and financial viability. You have actually got to begin with execution. If you don't have an operating design that works, expanding it simply increases issues.

Is Scaling the Best Investment?

Second, you require an engaging brand or unique idea that resonates with clients. And 3rd, the math has to work. If you do not understand your unit economics, your repaired and variable costs, you may be expanding blind and losing money. Exactly. And another essential lesson has to do with entering brand-new markets.

However when we expanded to Dallas, I expected new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too numerous operators presume brand-new markets will open at complete volume day one. That almost never takes place. And when the stores open sluggish, however you have actually signed leases and developed a monetary design based upon higher volumes, you get overextended.