Corporate Expansion Targets in 2026

And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the conversation 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 Shop.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. We bought the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. After a brief stint of trying to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino residential or commercial property and worked in corporate finance.

I was the very first worker there after private equity bought the 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 Store. My hope is that we can duplicate 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. It is primarily protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We likewise do salads, sandwiches. The secret to the program is we have a drink element too with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast throughout the day.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

Quick Service Industry Growth for 2026

Hey, everyone. It's excellent to be with you again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at Fourth. I've remained in this function for about 6 years. 4th, as a number of you understand, is a leading service provider of software solutions to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our objective is to assist our clients be successful in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and generally supplying them with tools they need to provide their vision.

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

And now you're doing the exact same thing at Chop Shop. When you speak with clients about Chop Store, they love the location. They speak about its distinction. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complicated idea in terms of delivering a great experience for the customer, and have the ability to grow that from a couple of stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's amazing.

We're going to discuss how to scale a dining establishment business. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has imagine taking one shop, two shops, 5 stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into several states, and ultimately nationwide, even worldwide reach. However it's not easy, specifically in today's environment.

Labor is difficult. Stock costs stay high. It's not a simple time to drive success and development at the very same time. We're thankful to have you here today, Jason, since we're going to dig into that topic. The concerns are going to be truly around: how do you grow a company? How do you scale it and make it successful? How do you replicate early success? And from there, after we talk about your experience and the lessons you've found out, we 'd love to then state: well, look, how could innovation help? How can you use technology as a multiplier to duplicate early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale excellent groups? And finally, AI.

Key Regional Shifts Shaping 2026 Growth

The very 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 restaurants?

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 service. To me, one of the crucial things, and I feel very lucky, is that both brand names I have actually been included with are special.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Shop in terms of what we're doing with a big, diverse menu. The majority of brands today are extremely singularly focused in terms of what they're providing from a foodstuff. I seem like we started at a benefit with both brand names by having something special that filled a specific niche no one else was doing.

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

Hospitality Sector Shifts Shaping 2026

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

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They do not understand how margin enhances as sales boost. I have actually seen so many business where the numbers simply do not work.

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If you do not have those 2 things, you shouldn't be constructing stores. Yeah, perhaps both, right? Due to the fact that as I hear your description, you've highlighted three things: execution, brand name differentiation, and financial viability. You've got to begin with execution. If you don't have an operating model that works, expanding it simply increases issues.

National Milestones in Corporate Scaling

Second, you need a compelling brand or special idea that resonates with clients. And third, the mathematics needs to work. If you don't comprehend your system economics, your repaired and variable expenses, you might be broadening blind and losing cash. Precisely. And another crucial lesson is about entering new markets.

When we expanded to Dallas, I anticipated new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. A lot of operators presume brand-new markets will open at full volume the first day. That nearly never ever occurs. And when the shops open slow, but you've signed leases and built a financial model based upon greater volumes, you get overextended.