Key Regional Shifts for 2026 Expansion

And we likewise have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of Fourth, 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 likewise inform them a little bit about Chop Store.

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 trying to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment property and worked in business finance.

I was the very first staff member there after personal equity purchased 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 Shop. My hope is that we can replicate 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 likewise do salads, sandwiches. The key to the program is we have a drink component also with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast all day.

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

Expansion News: New Developments for 2026

Hey, everyone. It's terrific to be with you once again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at Fourth. I have actually been in this function for about 6 years. Fourth, as much of you know, is a leading service provider of software options to the restaurant and hospitality market. Our objective is to help our clients achieve success in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, handling inventory, and basically providing them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's unusual to have companies that are cherished and growing quickly, that can repeat that success year after year. Jason, one of the reasons I was so ecstatic to have you join our session is the success at Zos was incredible. I've only satisfied a handful of brands where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand name.

When you talk to customers about Chop Shop, they enjoy the location. And to be able to take what is a fairly complex principle 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 incredible.

We're going to discuss how to scale a dining establishment business. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has dreams of taking one store, 2 shops, five shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, across the state, into multiple states, and ultimately nationwide, even global reach. It's not simple, especially in today's environment.

It's not a simple time to drive profitability and growth at the exact same time. How do you scale it and make it effective? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale excellent groups?

Is Scaling the Wise Move?

The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this two times now in the dining establishment industry. What are a few of the lessons you've discovered? What has your experience been in regards to what it takes to truly drive success in expanding dining establishments? Tell me a little about your course, what you experienced along the way, and possibly some of the more difficult lessons you found out.

We talked a bit before we started 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 included with are special.

And there's nothing exactly like Chop Shop in regards to what we're doing with a large, varied menu. Most brand names today are extremely singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a food product. I feel like we started at an advantage with both brand names by having something unique that filled a niche nobody else was doing.

Due to the fact that it's simply harder to stand apart when there are 10, 20, 50 principles within a 2- or three-mile radius trying to do the specific very same thing. A lot of it begins with the brand. Does your brand name have something special that nobody else is doing? That's unusual.

Essential Strategies for Growing Restaurant Footprints

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

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

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If you do not have those 2 things, you shouldn't be developing shops. Yeah, possibly both, right? Because as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand distinction, and financial viability. You've got to begin with execution. If you do not have an operating design that works, broadening it simply increases problems.

Restaurant Sector Trends Redefining 2026

Second, you require an engaging brand name or special principle that resonates with consumers. And 3rd, the math needs to work. If you do not understand your system economics, your repaired and variable costs, you might be broadening blind and losing money. Precisely. And another crucial lesson has to do with entering new markets.

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