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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 likewise inform them a little bit about Chop Shop.

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. I've been doing this for about 9 years now. We bought the brand name in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. Prior to this, I have actually spent most of my career in hospitality in some shape or form. After a short stint of attempting to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino home and operated in business finance.

I was the very first worker there after personal equity purchased the company. Assisted grow that from 20 to 150 places, 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 excellent start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. The key to the program is we have a beverage part as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes.

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A little more complicated than some of the walk-the-line principles that are out there, however we think we have actually got something pretty unique. We're going to add another store this year and a minimum of four shops next year. So we will be 31 approximately shops by the end of next year.

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I've been in this role for about six years. 4th, as numerous of you understand, is a leading service provider of software application solutions to the restaurant and hospitality market. Our objective is to help our consumers be effective in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and essentially offering them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's uncommon to have business that are beloved and growing rapidly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, one of the factors I was so ecstatic to have you join our session is the success at Zos was incredible. I've just met a handful of brand names where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand.

When you talk to consumers about Chop Store, they like the location. And to be able to take what is a fairly complex principle in terms of delivering 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 incredible.

We're going to speak about how to scale a dining establishment company. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has imagine taking one store, two shops, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, across the state, into multiple states, and eventually nationwide, even international reach. But it's not simple, particularly in today's environment.

It's not a simple time to drive profitability and development at the exact same time. How do you scale it and make it successful? 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 two times now in the restaurant 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 have actually got a post teed up to follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a company. To me, among the key things, and I feel really lucky, is that both brands I have actually been involved with are special.

And there's nothing exactly like Chop Store in regards to what we're making with a large, varied menu. Many brands today are really singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a foodstuff. I seem like we started at a benefit with both brands by having something special that filled a specific niche no one else was doing.

Because it's simply harder to stand apart when there are 10, 20, 50 concepts within a two- or three-mile radius attempting to do the exact very same thing. So a lot of it starts with the brand. Does your brand have something distinct that no one else is doing? That's uncommon.

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The 2nd thingI originated from a financing background, so a lot of my knowings are more finance and data-driven versus a lot of early startup restaurateurs who are creative types. They like the food, they constructed the menu, they developed the brand. I most likely couldn't do that from scratch. If you offered me something that has all those components in place, I can take it from there and put the playbook in place.

They do not know their breakeven sales. They do not comprehend how margin enhances as sales boost. They do not understand cash-on-cash returns. I've seen so lots of business where the numbers simply don't work. And yet people say: let's open 10 more. And I'll state: why? It doesn't earn money. Stop. You need to find an idea that is distinct.

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If you don't have those 2 things, you should not be developing shops. Due to the fact that as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand distinction, and monetary practicality.

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Second, you require a compelling brand name or unique principle that resonates with clients. And another essential lesson is about going into brand-new markets.

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