The Advantages of Fast Casual Expansion in 2026

Thank you. And we likewise have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of Fourth, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. Jason, how about I let you offer the audience some details about your background and you can likewise 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 have actually been doing this for about 9 years now. We bought the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. Prior to this, I've spent the majority of my career in hospitality in some shape or form. After a short stint of trying to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino property and worked in business finance.

I was the very first staff member there after personal equity bought business. Assisted grow that from 20 to 150 areas, 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 excellent start.

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

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A little more complicated than a few of the walk-the-line concepts that are out there, however we believe we have actually got something pretty special. We're going to add another store this year and a minimum of four stores next year. We will be 31 or so shops by the end of next year.

Strategic Growth Targets in 2026

Hey, everybody. It's terrific to be with you once again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at 4th. I have actually remained in this function for about 6 years. Fourth, as numerous of you know, is a leading supplier of software services to the restaurant and hospitality market. Our objective is to assist our consumers succeed in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and basically offering them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's rare to have business that are precious and growing rapidly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, one of the factors I was so fired up to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I have actually only fulfilled a handful of brands where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the same thing at Chop Store. When you speak with consumers about Chop Store, they enjoy the location. They speak about its distinction. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complex idea in regards to delivering an excellent experience for the client, and be able to grow that from a couple of shops to now north of 30 stores next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to speak about how to scale a restaurant business. Every restaurateur I ever talk to has imagine taking one store, 2 stores, five shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, throughout the state, into numerous states, and eventually national, even worldwide reach. But it's challenging, particularly in today's environment.

Labor is tough. Inventory costs stay high. It's not a simple time to drive profitability and development at the exact same time. However we're happy to have you here today, Jason, due to the fact that we're going to go into that subject. The questions are going to be actually around: how do you grow a business? How do you scale it and make it effective? 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 say: well, look, how could technology help? How can you use innovation as a multiplier to duplicate early success to significant success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale fantastic teams? And last but not least, AI.

Fast Casual Industry Growth for 2026

The very first question 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 truly drive success in expanding restaurants?

We talked a little bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I have actually got a post teed as much as follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a business. To me, among the key things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brand names I've been included with are distinct.

And there's nothing precisely like Chop Store in regards to what we're finishing with a big, diverse menu. Most brand names today are extremely singularly focused in terms of what they're offering from a foodstuff. I seem like we started at an advantage with both brands by having something distinct that filled a niche nobody else was doing.

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

Is Scaling the Wise Move?

The 2nd thingI came from a financing background, so a great deal of my knowings are more finance and data-driven versus a lot of early startup restaurateurs who are imaginative types. They enjoy the food, they constructed the menu, they developed the brand. I probably couldn't do that from scratch. However if you gave me something that has all those components in place, I can take it from there and put the playbook in location.

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

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If you don't have those 2 things, you should not be building stores. Because as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name differentiation, and financial viability.

Restaurant Industry Shifts Redefining 2026

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

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