Expansion News: Regional Milestones for 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 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 nine years now. We bought the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. Prior to this, I've invested the majority of my career in hospitality in some shape or form. After a brief stint of attempting to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment property and operated in corporate financing.

I was the first staff member there after private equity bought business. 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 duplicate the success we had at Zos, and we're off to a truly excellent start.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

A little more complex than some of the walk-the-line ideas that are out there, but we think we have actually got something pretty special. We're going to add another store this year and at least 4 shops next year. We will be 31 or so stores by the end of next year.

How to Scale Your Restaurant Brand

I have actually been in this function for about 6 years. 4th, as numerous of you understand, is a leading service provider of software options to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our goal is to assist our consumers be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and basically offering them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's unusual to have business that are cherished and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success every year. Jason, among the factors I was so excited to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I've 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 exact same thing at Chop Store. When you talk with clients about Chop Store, they enjoy the location. They discuss its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a fairly complex idea in terms of delivering a terrific experience for the customer, and be able to grow that from a few 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 speak to has dreams of taking one shop, 2 shops, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, throughout the state, into numerous states, and ultimately nationwide, even international reach. It's not simple, specifically in today's environment.

Labor is hard. Stock expenses stay high. It's not an easy time to drive success and development at the same time. But we're grateful to have you here today, Jason, because we're going to dig into that subject. The questions are going to be really around: how do you grow an organization? How do you scale it and make it effective? How do you reproduce early success? And from there, after we talk about your experience and the lessons you've learned, we 'd enjoy to then state: well, appearance, how could technology assist? How can you use technology as a multiplier to replicate early success to significant success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale fantastic groups? And last but not least, AI.

Key Market Milestones Shaping 2026 Growth

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

We talked a little bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I've got a post teed as much as follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a company. To me, among the crucial things, and I feel extremely lucky, is that both brand names I've been involved with are unique.

And there's absolutely nothing exactly like Chop Store in terms of what we're making with a big, diverse menu. A lot of brand names today are very singularly focused in terms of what they're offering from a food. I seem like we began at an advantage with both brands by having something unique that filled a specific niche no one else was doing.

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

Regional Success in Corporate Scaling

The 2nd thingI came from a finance background, so a lot of my knowings are more finance and data-driven versus a lot of early start-up restaurateurs who are innovative types. They love the food, they constructed the menu, they built the brand.

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They don't comprehend how margin improves as sales increase. They don't comprehend cash-on-cash returns. I've seen so lots of companies where the numbers just don't work. And yet people state: let's open 10 more. And I'll state: why? It doesn't make money. Stop. You require to find an idea that is distinct.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

If you don't have those 2 things, you shouldn't be building shops. Since as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name distinction, and monetary viability.

Top Advantages of Fast Casual Expansion in 2026

Second, you require a compelling brand name or unique principle that resonates with customers. And another crucial lesson is about getting in new markets.

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