Steps to Scale a Dining Concept

And we likewise have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the discussion with Jason. Jason, how about I let you offer the audience some details about your background and you can also tell them a little bit about Chop Store.

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

I was the first employee there after private equity bought the service. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 locations, took it public in 2014, and then 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 great start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. It is mostly protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We also do salads, sandwiches. The key to the program is we have a drink part also 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 quite unique. We're going to include another store this year and at least four stores next year. We will be 31 or so shops by the end of next year.

Steps to Scale a Restaurant Concept

Hey, everyone. It's fantastic to be with you 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 supplier of software application options to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our goal is to help our consumers be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and essentially offering them with tools they require to deliver their vision.

It's rare to have companies that are precious and growing quickly, that can repeat that success every year. Jason, among the reasons I was so excited to have you join our session is the success at Zos was fantastic. I've just fulfilled a handful of brands where there was such a strong consumer 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 complex idea in terms of providing a great experience for the customer, and be able to grow that from a couple of shops to now north of 30 shops next yearit's amazing.

We're going to discuss how to scale a dining establishment service. Every restaurateur I ever talk to has dreams of taking one store, two stores, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, across the state, into numerous states, and eventually nationwide, even worldwide reach. But it's not simple, especially in today's environment.

It's not a simple time to drive success and growth at the same time. How do you scale it and make it successful? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale terrific teams?

Regional Milestones in Corporate Scaling

The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually 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 expanding restaurants?

We talked a bit before we started 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 an organization. To me, one of the key things, and I feel very fortunate, is that both brand names I've been included with are unique.

And there's absolutely nothing exactly like Chop Shop in regards to what we're doing with a large, diverse menu. Most brand names today are really singularly focused in terms of what they're offering from a food item. I feel like we began at a benefit with both brands by having something distinct that filled a niche no one else was doing.

Due to the fact that it's just harder to stand out when there are 10, 20, 50 concepts within a two- or three-mile radius trying to do the specific very same thing. So a great deal of it begins with the brand name. Does your brand have something unique that no one else is doing? That's uncommon.

Fast Casual Industry Trends

The second thingI came from a financing background, so a lot of my learnings are more financing and data-driven versus a lot of early startup restaurateurs who are innovative types. They like the food, they developed the menu, they built the brand.

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They don't comprehend how margin improves as sales increase. I've seen so many business where the numbers just do not work.

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If you don't have those 2 things, you should not be developing shops. Since as I hear your description, you've highlighted three things: execution, brand name distinction, and financial practicality.

Key Market Shifts for 2026 Expansion

Second, you need an engaging brand or special principle that resonates with consumers. And another crucial lesson is about entering brand-new markets.

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