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Thank you. And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of Fourth, 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 tell them a little bit about Chop Shop. And after that I'll let you take it from there, Clinton.

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. I've been doing this for about 9 years now. We purchased the brand name in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. Prior to this, I have actually invested most of my career in hospitality in some shape or kind. After a short stint of trying to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino residential or commercial property and operated in business financing.

I was the first worker there after private equity purchased the business. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 places, 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 a truly good 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 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 shop this year and at least 4 stores next year. We will be 31 or so shops by the end of next year.

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I've been in this function for about six years. 4th, as many of you know, is a leading provider of software services to the dining establishment and hospitality market. Our objective is to help our consumers be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and generally supplying them with tools they need to provide their vision.

It's unusual to have companies that are precious and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, among the factors I was so thrilled 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 client affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the exact same thing at Chop Shop. When you speak to consumers about Chop Store, they like the place. They discuss its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a relatively complicated idea in terms of providing a terrific 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 speak about how to scale a restaurant service. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has dreams of taking one shop, two shops, 5 stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into several states, and eventually nationwide, even worldwide reach. However it's difficult, especially in today's environment.

It's not an easy time to drive profitability and growth at the exact same time. How do you scale it and make it successful? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale excellent teams?

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

We talked a bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I've got a post teed approximately 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 really fortunate, is that both brand names I have actually been involved with are distinct.

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

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

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The 2nd thingI came from a finance background, so a great deal of my knowings are more financing and data-driven versus a lot of early start-up restaurateurs who are innovative types. They like the food, they constructed the menu, they built the brand name. I probably could not do that from scratch. However if you gave me something that has all those parts in location, I can take it from there and put the playbook in location.

They do not know their breakeven sales. They do not comprehend how margin improves as sales boost. They do not comprehend cash-on-cash returns. I have actually seen a lot of business where the numbers simply do not work. And yet individuals state: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It doesn't generate income. Stop. You need to discover a concept that is distinct.

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If you don't have those two things, you shouldn't be developing stores. Since as I hear your description, you've highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name distinction, and financial practicality.

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Second, you require an engaging brand or special concept that resonates with clients. And 3rd, the mathematics needs to work. If you don't comprehend your system economics, your repaired and variable expenses, you might be expanding blind and losing money. Exactly. And another key lesson is about getting in new markets.

When we expanded to Dallas, I expected brand-new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. A lot of operators assume new markets will open at complete volume day one. That practically never takes place. And when the stores open sluggish, however you've signed leases and built a monetary model based on higher volumes, you get overextended.