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Thank you. And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. So Jason, how about I let you provide the audience some details about your background and you can also inform them a little 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've grown it to 26. After a short stint of attempting to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment residential or commercial property and worked in business financing.

I was the very first employee there after private equity bought business. Helped 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 great 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 complicated than a few of the walk-the-line principles that are out there, however we think we've got something pretty unique. We're going to add another shop this year and a minimum of four stores next year. So we will be 31 approximately stores by the end of next year.

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I've been in this function for about 6 years. 4th, as many of you understand, is a leading service provider of software services to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our objective is to help our consumers be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and essentially providing them with tools they require to deliver their vision.

It's unusual to have companies that are precious and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success every year. Jason, one of the factors I was so thrilled to have you join our session is the success at Zos was amazing. I've just satisfied a handful of brand names where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand name.

When you talk to consumers about Chop Store, they like the place. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complicated idea in terms of delivering a great experience for the consumer, and be able to grow that from a couple of stores to now north of 30 shops next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to speak about how to scale a restaurant company. Every restaurateur I ever speak to has dreams of taking one store, 2 shops, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, across the state, into multiple states, and ultimately nationwide, even global reach. It's not simple, specifically in today's environment.

Labor is difficult. Stock costs stay high. It's not a simple time to drive profitability and development at the exact same time. However we're pleased to have you here today, Jason, since we're going to go into that subject. The concerns are going to be truly around: how do you grow an organization? 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 love to then state: well, look, how could innovation help? How can you utilize innovation as a multiplier to replicate early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale fantastic groups? And lastly, AI.

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The very first concern 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 really drive success in broadening restaurants?

We talked a little 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 a company. To me, one of the key things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brands I've been involved with are special.

And there's nothing precisely like Chop Store in terms of what we're doing with a big, diverse menu. A lot of brand names today are really singularly focused in terms of what they're offering from a food. I feel like we began at an advantage with both brands by having something distinct 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 unique that no one else is doing?

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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 start-up restaurateurs who are imaginative types. They love the food, they built the menu, they developed the brand.

They do not know their breakeven sales. They don't understand how margin improves as sales increase. They don't comprehend cash-on-cash returns. I have actually seen a lot of companies where the numbers just don't work. And yet people say: let's open 10 more. And I'll state: why? It does not earn money. Stop. You need to find a principle that is special.

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If you do not have those 2 things, you should not be constructing shops. Due to the fact that as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted three things: execution, brand differentiation, and financial viability.

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Second, you need an engaging brand name or unique concept that resonates with clients. And another crucial lesson is about getting in brand-new markets.

But when we expanded to Dallas, I expected brand-new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. Too numerous operators assume new markets will open at complete volume the first day. That practically never ever takes place. And when the stores open slow, however you've signed leases and developed a financial model based upon greater volumes, you get overextended.