How to Expand a Dining Concept

And we also 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 also inform them a little bit about Chop Store.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. We bought the brand in 2016three unitsand I've grown it to 26. After a brief stint of attempting to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino property and worked in business financing.

I was the first employee there after private equity purchased business. Helped 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 Shop. My hope is that we can duplicate the success we had at Zos, and we're off to an actually excellent start.

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

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A little more complicated than some of the walk-the-line principles that are out there, but we believe we have actually got something pretty special. We're going to include another store this year and a minimum of 4 stores next year. We will be 31 or so stores by the end of next year.

Corporate Expansion Targets for 2026

I have actually been in this role for about six years. 4th, as numerous of you know, is a leading provider of software solutions to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our goal is to help our clients be successful in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and essentially supplying them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's unusual to have companies that are beloved and growing quickly, that can repeat that success every year. Jason, among the factors I was so excited to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I've only fulfilled a handful of brand names where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand name.

When you talk to clients about Chop Shop, they love the location. And to be able to take what is a fairly complicated principle in terms of providing an excellent experience for the client, and be able to grow that from a few stores to now north of 30 shops next yearit's remarkable.

We're going to talk about how to scale a dining establishment organization. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has imagine taking one store, 2 shops, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, across the state, into several states, and ultimately national, even international reach. But it's difficult, specifically in today's environment.

It's not an easy time to drive profitability and growth at the same time. How do you scale it and make it effective? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale great teams?

Restaurant Industry Shifts Shaping 2026

The first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this twice now in the dining establishment industry. What has your experience been in terms of what it takes to really drive success in expanding dining establishments?

We talked a little bit before we began 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, among the essential things, and I feel extremely lucky, is that both brand names I've been involved with are special.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Store in regards to what we're doing with a large, diverse menu. A lot of brand names today are extremely singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a foodstuff. I feel like we began at a benefit with both brand names by having something unique that filled a niche no one else was doing.

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

Top Advantages of Restaurant Expansion in 2026

The second 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 innovative types. They enjoy the food, they developed the menu, they constructed the brand name.

They do not know their breakeven sales. They do not understand how margin enhances as sales increase. I have actually seen so numerous business where the numbers just do not work.

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If you do not have those 2 things, you shouldn't be constructing shops. Due to the fact that as I hear your description, you've highlighted three things: execution, brand name distinction, and financial practicality.

Corporate Updates: New Developments in 2026

Second, you need an engaging brand name or distinct idea that resonates with clients. And another essential lesson is about going into new markets.

When we expanded to Dallas, I expected new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too numerous operators presume brand-new markets will open at complete volume day one. That practically never ever takes place. And when the stores open slow, however you've signed leases and built a monetary model based on higher volumes, you get overextended.