Regional Success in Corporate Scaling

Thank you. And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of Fourth, who will be moderating the discussion with Jason. So Jason, how about I let you give the audience some details about your background and you can likewise tell them a 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 Shop. I've 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 have actually spent the majority of my profession in hospitality in some shape or type. After a quick stint of attempting to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino residential or commercial property and worked in corporate finance.

I was the first worker there after personal equity bought business. Assisted grow that from 20 to 150 places, 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 reproduce 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 beverage 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 concepts that are out there, however we think we have actually got something pretty special. We're going to add another store this year and at least four stores next year. So we will be 31 approximately stores by the end of next year.

Top Advantages of Fast Casual Franchising in 2026

Hey, everybody. It's excellent to be with you once again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at Fourth. I have actually remained in this role for about 6 years. Fourth, as a number of you know, is a leading service provider of software application solutions to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our objective is to help our consumers succeed in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, handling inventory, and essentially offering them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's unusual to have business that are cherished and growing rapidly, 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 fantastic. I've only satisfied a handful of brands where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand.

And now you're doing the very same thing at Chop Store. When you speak with customers about Chop Store, they enjoy the place. They speak about its distinction. And to be able to take what is a relatively complex idea in terms of providing a fantastic experience for the consumer, and have the ability to grow that from a few stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's incredible.

We're going to discuss how to scale a dining establishment company. Every restaurateur I ever speak to has imagine taking one store, 2 shops, 5 stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into numerous states, and eventually national, even global reach. It's not easy, specifically in today's environment.

It's not an easy time to drive success and development at the exact same time. How do you scale it and make it successful? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale excellent teams?

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The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this twice now in the restaurant 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 started about LinkedIn, and I have actually 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 key things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brands I have actually been involved with are unique.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Store in regards to what we're doing with a large, diverse menu. Many brands today are really singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a foodstuff. I seem like we started at an advantage with both brand names by having something distinct that filled a specific niche nobody else was doing.

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

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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 startup restaurateurs who are innovative types. They enjoy the food, they constructed the menu, they built the brand.

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They do not comprehend how margin enhances as sales boost. They don't comprehend cash-on-cash returns. I have actually seen numerous companies where the numbers simply don't work. And yet individuals state: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It does not make money. Stop. You need to find a principle that is special.

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If you don't have those two things, you shouldn't be developing stores. Yeah, maybe both, right? Since as I hear your description, you've highlighted three things: execution, brand differentiation, and financial practicality. You've got to start with execution. If you do not have an operating design that works, expanding it just multiplies issues.

National Milestones in Brand Scaling

Second, you need an engaging brand name or special idea that resonates with customers. And 3rd, the mathematics has to work. If you don't understand your system economics, your repaired and variable costs, you might be broadening blind and losing cash. Exactly. And another crucial lesson has to do with getting in brand-new markets.

When we broadened to Dallas, I expected new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. A lot of operators assume brand-new markets will open at full volume the first day. That practically never occurs. And when the shops open slow, however you have actually signed leases and developed a financial design based upon higher volumes, you get overextended.