Best Franchise Prospects to Watch

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 offer the audience some information about your background and you can likewise tell 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 Store. We bought the brand name in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. After a brief stint of attempting to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment property and worked in corporate financing.

I was the first staff member there after personal equity purchased 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 Store. My hope is that we can duplicate the success we had at Zos, and we're off to an actually good start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. It is mainly protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We also do salads, sandwiches. The secret to the program is we have a drink element as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast all day.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

Restaurant Industry Shifts Redefining 2026

Hey, everyone. It's fantastic to be with you once again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at 4th. I have actually been in this role for about six years. Fourth, as many of you know, is a leading supplier of software solutions to the dining establishment and hospitality market. Our goal is to help our consumers be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and basically providing them with tools they need to provide their vision.

It's rare to have companies that are beloved and growing quickly, that can repeat that success year after year. Jason, among the factors I was so excited to have you join our session is the success at Zos was fantastic. I've just met a handful of brands where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand.

And now you're doing the exact same thing at Chop Shop. When you speak with clients about Chop Store, they like the location. They speak about its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a relatively complicated concept in terms of delivering a great experience for the customer, and have the ability to grow that from a couple of stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to talk about how to scale a dining establishment company. Every restaurateur I ever speak to has imagine taking one store, two stores, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, across the state, into several states, and ultimately nationwide, even global reach. It's not simple, specifically in today's environment.

Labor is difficult. Inventory costs remain high. It's not a simple time to drive profitability and development at the same time. However we're glad to have you here today, Jason, due to the fact that we're going to dig into that subject. The concerns are going to be actually around: how do you grow an organization? How do you scale it and make it successful? How do you reproduce early success? And from there, after we talk about your experience and the lessons you've learned, we 'd like to then state: well, appearance, how could innovation assist? How can you utilize innovation as a multiplier to replicate early success to significant success? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale excellent teams? And lastly, AI.

Why Is Scaling the Best Move?

The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this two times now in the restaurant industry. What are a few of the lessons you've found out? What has your experience been in terms of what it takes to really drive success in expanding restaurants? Inform me a little about your course, what you experienced along the way, and possibly a few of the harder lessons you discovered.

We talked a little bit before we started 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, one of the crucial things, and I feel really lucky, is that both brands I have actually been involved with are special.

And there's absolutely nothing exactly like Chop Store in terms of what we're finishing with a big, diverse menu. Many brands today are extremely singularly focused in terms of what they're using from a food. I seem like we started at a benefit with both brand names by having something distinct that filled a niche no one else was doing.

Because it's just more difficult to stand out when there are 10, 20, 50 ideas within a 2- or three-mile radius trying to do the exact very same thing. So a lot of it starts with the brand name. Does your brand have something special that nobody else is doing? That's rare.

Analyzing Investment ROI Against Market Data

The 2nd thingI came from a finance background, so a lot of my learnings are more financing and data-driven versus a lot of early start-up restaurateurs who are creative types. They love the food, they constructed the menu, they developed the brand name. I most likely could not do that from scratch. But if you gave me something that has all those elements in location, I can take it from there and put the playbook in place.

They do not know their breakeven sales. They don't comprehend how margin enhances as sales boost. They don't understand cash-on-cash returns. I have actually seen so many companies where the numbers simply don't work. And yet individuals state: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It doesn't make money. Stop. You require to discover a concept that is distinct.

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If you don't have those two things, you should not be constructing shops. Yeah, possibly both, right? Since as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name distinction, and monetary practicality. You have actually got to begin with execution. If you do not have an operating model that works, broadening it simply increases problems.

Significant Market Milestones Shaping 2026 Expansion

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

When we broadened to Dallas, I anticipated new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too lots of operators assume new markets will open at complete volume day one.