Quick Service Market Share Trends

Thank you. And we likewise 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 details about your background and you can also inform them a little bit about Chop Store. And after that 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 short stint of trying to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino residential or commercial property and worked in corporate financing.

I was the very first employee there after personal equity bought the business. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 areas, 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 reproduce the success we had at Zos, and we're off to a truly 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.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

A little more complicated than a few of the walk-the-line ideas that are out there, but we think we've got something pretty special. We're going to include another store this year and at least 4 shops next year. So we will be 31 approximately shops by the end of next year.

Significant Regional Milestones for 2026 Expansion

I have actually been in this role for about 6 years. Fourth, as numerous of you know, is a leading service provider of software application solutions to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our goal is to help our customers be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and generally offering them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's unusual to have companies that are precious and growing quickly, that can repeat that success every year. Jason, one of the reasons I was so ecstatic to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I have actually only met a handful of brand names where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand.

When you talk to consumers about Chop Store, they enjoy the place. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complex concept in terms of delivering a great experience for the client, and be able to grow that from a few shops to now north of 30 shops next yearit's incredible.

We're going to talk about how to scale a restaurant service. Every restaurateur I ever speak to has dreams of taking one shop, 2 stores, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, throughout the state, into several states, and eventually nationwide, even global reach. It's not simple, especially in today's environment.

Labor is difficult. Stock costs stay high. It's not an easy time to drive success and development at the very same time. But we're delighted to have you here today, Jason, due to the fact that we're going to dig into that topic. The questions are going to be actually around: how do you grow an organization? How do you scale it and make it successful? How do you replicate early success? And from there, after we speak about your experience and the lessons you've learned, we 'd enjoy to then say: well, appearance, how could technology help? How can you utilize technology as a multiplier to reproduce early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale excellent groups? And lastly, AI.

Expansion Updates: New Milestones for 2026

The first concern I have for you, Jasonlook, you've 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 regards to what it requires to truly drive success in expanding dining establishments? Tell me a little about your path, what you experienced along the method, and maybe some of the harder lessons you learned.

We talked a bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I have actually got a post teed approximately follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing an organization. To me, among the key things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brands I have actually been involved with are distinct.

And there's absolutely nothing exactly like Chop Store in terms of what we're making with a large, varied menu. Most brands today are very singularly focused in terms of what they're using from a food. I seem like we started at a benefit with both brands by having something distinct that filled a specific niche nobody else was doing.

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

Why Is Scaling the Best Move?

The second thingI came from a finance background, so a great deal of my knowings are more finance and data-driven versus a great deal of early startup restaurateurs who are innovative types. They love the food, they constructed the menu, they constructed the brand. I probably could not do that from scratch. However if you offered me something that has all those parts in location, I can take it from there and put the playbook in location.

They don't know their breakeven sales. They do not understand how margin improves as sales increase. They don't comprehend cash-on-cash returns. I've seen many business where the numbers just do not work. And yet individuals state: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It does not generate income. Stop. You require to discover an idea that is distinct.

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If you don't have those 2 things, you should not be constructing shops. Because as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted three things: execution, brand name differentiation, and financial practicality.

Analyzing Investment Models Against Market Trends

Second, you need an engaging brand name or distinct idea that resonates with consumers. And another crucial lesson is about getting in new markets.

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