Key Regional Shifts Shaping 2026 Expansion

Thank you. 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 details about your background and you can also inform them a little bit about Chop Shop. And after that I'll let you take it from there, Clinton.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. We bought the brand name 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 gambling establishment home and worked in corporate finance.

I was the very first employee there after personal equity bought the organization. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 locations, took it public in 2014, and then 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 really excellent start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. The key to the program is we have a drink element 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, however we believe we have actually got something quite special. We're going to add another store this year and at least 4 stores next year. We will be 31 or so stores by the end of next year.

How to Scale a Dining Brand

I've been in this role for about 6 years. 4th, as many of you know, is a leading supplier of software solutions to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our goal is to assist our customers be successful in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, handling stock, and generally providing them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's unusual to have companies that are precious and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success every year. Jason, one of the factors I was so fired up to have you join our session is the success at Zos was fantastic. I have actually only satisfied a handful of brands where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the exact same thing at Chop Shop. When you talk to clients about Chop Shop, they love the location. They speak about its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complex concept in regards to delivering an excellent experience for the customer, and be able to grow that from a few stores to now north of 30 shops next yearit's amazing.

We're going to speak about how to scale a dining establishment organization. Every restaurateur I ever speak to has dreams of taking one shop, 2 stores, five shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, across the state, into several states, and ultimately nationwide, even worldwide reach. It's not simple, 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 great teams?

Fast Casual Industry Growth

The very first concern I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this twice now in the restaurant market. 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 an organization. To me, one of the crucial things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brands I have actually been included with are distinct.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Store in regards to what we're doing with a big, varied menu. A lot of brands today are very singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a food. I feel like we started at a benefit with both brands by having something special 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?

Key Market Milestones Shaping 2026 Growth

The 2nd thingI came from a finance background, so a lot of my learnings are more finance and data-driven versus a lot of early start-up restaurateurs who are imaginative types. They like the food, they constructed the menu, they developed the brand name.

They do not know their breakeven sales. They don't understand how margin improves as sales increase. I have actually seen so lots of companies where the numbers simply don't work.

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

Leading Franchise Prospects in 2026

Second, you need an engaging brand name or distinct concept that resonates with consumers. And third, the math needs to work. If you don't comprehend your system economics, your repaired and variable costs, you might be expanding blind and losing money. Exactly. And another essential lesson is about entering brand-new markets.

When we expanded to Dallas, I anticipated brand-new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too lots of operators presume new markets will open at complete volume the first day. That nearly never happens. And when the shops open sluggish, however you have actually signed leases and developed a monetary model based upon greater volumes, you get overextended.