Is Fast Casual the Wise Investment?

Thank you. And we likewise have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the discussion with Jason. Jason, how about I let you provide the audience some details about your background and you can likewise inform them a little bit about Chop Store. And after that I'll let you take it from there, Clinton.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. We purchased the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. After a quick stint of trying to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment residential or commercial property and worked in corporate finance.

I was the first staff member there after personal equity purchased business. Assisted grow that from 20 to 150 areas, took it public in 2014, and then left about a year and a half after going public to do this at Chop Store. My hope is that we can reproduce the success we had at Zos, and we're off to an actually good start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. The key to the program is we have a drink element 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 principles that are out there, however we believe we have actually got something pretty special. We're going to add another store this year and at least 4 stores next year. We will be 31 or so stores by the end of next year.

Major Growth Targets for 2026

Hey, everybody. 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 six years. Fourth, as much of you understand, is a leading supplier of software solutions to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our objective is to help our customers succeed in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing inventory, and basically supplying them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's rare to have companies that are beloved and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, one of the factors I was so thrilled to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I've just satisfied a handful of brand names where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the same thing at Chop Store. When you talk with customers about Chop Store, they enjoy the place. They speak about its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complicated concept in regards to delivering a great experience for the customer, and be able to grow that from a couple of shops to now north of 30 stores next yearit's amazing.

We're going to talk about how to scale a dining establishment service. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has imagine taking one shop, two shops, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into several states, and eventually national, even global reach. It's not simple, specifically in today's environment.

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

Why Is Fast Casual a Best Move?

The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this twice now in the restaurant market. What are a few of the lessons you've learned? What has your experience remained in terms of what it requires to truly drive success in broadening restaurants? Tell me a little about your path, what you experienced along the method, and maybe a few of the more difficult lessons you learned.

We talked a bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I have actually got a post teed approximately follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a service. To me, one of the key things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brands I've been included with are distinct.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Shop in terms of what we're making with a large, diverse menu. Most brands today are very singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a foodstuff. I seem like we began at an advantage with both brands by having something special that filled a niche nobody else was doing.

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

Why Is Scaling the Wise Move?

The 2nd thingI originated 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 innovative types. They love the food, they constructed the menu, they developed the brand. I most likely could not do that from scratch. However if you provided me something that has all those components in location, I can take it from there and put the playbook in place.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

If you do not have those 2 things, you should not be constructing stores. Yeah, possibly both? Because as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand differentiation, and monetary practicality. You have actually got to begin with execution. If you do not have an operating model that works, expanding it just increases problems.

Key Tips to Expanding Restaurant Footprints

Second, you need a compelling brand or unique concept that resonates with consumers. And another key lesson is about getting in new markets.

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