Comparing Franchise Models Against Market Data

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 information about your background and you can also inform them a little bit about Chop Store.

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. I've been doing this for about nine years now. We purchased the brand in 2016three unitsand I've grown it to 26. Prior to this, I have actually invested the majority of my profession in hospitality in some shape or type. After a short stint of attempting to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino property and worked in business financing.

I was the very first worker there after personal equity purchased 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 Shop. My hope is that we can duplicate 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 secret to the program is we have a beverage component 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, but we think we've got something quite special. We're going to add another shop this year and at least 4 stores next year. So we will be 31 or two shops by the end of next year.

Key Regional Shifts for 2026 Expansion

Hey, everyone. It's fantastic to be with you again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at 4th. I've remained in this function for about six years. 4th, as many of you know, is a leading provider of software application solutions to the dining establishment and hospitality market. Our goal is to assist our consumers achieve success in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and generally offering them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's rare to have companies that are cherished and growing rapidly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, among the reasons I was so fired up to have you join our session is the success at Zos was fantastic. I have actually just fulfilled a handful of brand names where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand.

When you talk to customers about Chop Shop, they enjoy the location. And to be able to take what is a relatively complex principle in terms of delivering a terrific experience for the client, and be able to grow that from a few stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to discuss how to scale a dining establishment service. Every restaurateur I ever talk with has imagine taking one shop, 2 stores, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, throughout the state, into several states, and eventually nationwide, even global reach. However it's hard, specifically in today's environment.

Labor is difficult. Stock costs remain high. It's not an easy time to drive success and development at the exact same time. We're glad to have you here today, Jason, since we're going to dig into that subject. The concerns are going to be actually around: how do you grow a business? How do you scale it and make it effective? How do you duplicate early success? And from there, after we talk about your experience and the lessons you've found out, we 'd like to then say: well, appearance, how could innovation assist? How can you use technology as a multiplier to reproduce early success to significant success? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale excellent groups? And finally, AI.

Significant Regional Shifts for 2026 Expansion

The first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this two times now in the restaurant market. What has your experience been in terms of what it takes to truly drive success in broadening restaurants?

We talked a little bit before we started about LinkedIn, and I've 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 really fortunate, is that both brands I've been involved with are distinct.

And there's nothing exactly like Chop Store in regards to what we're finishing with a large, varied menu. Many brand names today are extremely singularly focused in regards to what they're offering from a food product. I feel like we started at a benefit with both brands by having something special that filled a specific niche nobody else was doing.

Because it's simply harder 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 begins with the brand name. Does your brand name have something unique that nobody else is doing? That's unusual.

Is Fast Casual the Wise Move?

The second thingI came from a finance background, so a great deal of my knowings are more financing and data-driven versus a lot of early startup restaurateurs who are imaginative types. They love the food, they constructed the menu, they developed the brand name. I most likely could not do that from scratch. If you offered me something that has all those parts in location, I can take it from there and put the playbook in place.

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

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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 3 things: execution, brand differentiation, and financial practicality. You have actually got to begin with execution. If you do not have an operating design that works, broadening it just multiplies issues.

Expansion Updates: New Milestones in 2026

Second, you need an engaging brand or special concept that resonates with customers. And 3rd, the math has to work. If you don't understand your system economics, your fixed and variable costs, you may be broadening blind and losing money. Precisely. And another key lesson is about going into brand-new markets.

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