Fast Casual Market Share Trends

And we likewise have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of Fourth, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. Jason, how about I let you provide the audience some information about your background and you can likewise tell 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 brief stint of trying to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment property and worked in corporate finance.

I was the first worker there after private equity bought business. Assisted 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 reproduce 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. The secret to the program is we have a drink component as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

Significant Market Milestones Shaping 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 role for about six years. Fourth, as a number of you know, is a leading supplier of software options to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our objective is to assist our clients be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, handling stock, and essentially supplying them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's rare to have business that are beloved and growing quickly, that can repeat that success year after year. Jason, one of the factors I was so fired up to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I have actually just satisfied a handful of brands where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand.

When you talk to clients about Chop Store, they love the place. And to be able to take what is a relatively complex concept in terms of providing a terrific experience for the client, and be able to grow that from a few stores to now north of 30 shops next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to discuss how to scale a restaurant service. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has dreams of taking one shop, two stores, 5 shops, 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 easy, particularly in today's environment.

It's not a simple time to drive profitability and development at the same time. How do you scale it and make it effective? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale great teams?

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

We talked a 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, one of the crucial things, and I feel very fortunate, is that both brands I've been included with are distinct.

And there's nothing precisely like Chop Store in regards to what we're doing with a large, varied menu. The majority of brands today are really singularly focused in regards to what they're using from a foodstuff. I feel like we began at a benefit with both brands by having something distinct that filled a niche no one else was doing.

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

Expansion News: Regional Milestones for 2026

The second thingI came from a finance background, so a great deal of my learnings are more finance and data-driven versus a great deal of early startup restaurateurs who are innovative types. They enjoy the food, they constructed the menu, they built the brand. I probably couldn't do that from scratch. If you gave me something that has all those elements in place, I can take it from there and put the playbook in place.

They don't understand their breakeven sales. They don't understand how margin improves as sales increase. They do not understand cash-on-cash returns. I have actually seen numerous companies where the numbers just do not work. And yet people say: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It does not earn money. Stop. You need to discover a concept that is special.

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If you don't have those two things, you shouldn't be constructing shops. Yeah, maybe both? Since as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name differentiation, and financial practicality. You've got to begin with execution. If you do not have an operating model that works, broadening it just increases issues.

Steps to Expand Your Dining Concept

Second, you need a compelling brand or unique idea that resonates with clients. And another key lesson is about going into brand-new markets.

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