How to Scale a Restaurant Concept

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

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

I was the very first worker there after private equity bought business. 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 Store. My hope is that we can duplicate 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. It is mainly protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We also do salads, sandwiches. The key to the program is we have a beverage element as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast all the time.

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A little more complex than a few of the walk-the-line concepts that are out there, but we think we've got something quite special. We're going to include another shop this year and a minimum of 4 shops next year. So we will be 31 or two stores by the end of next year.

Steps to Expand Your Restaurant Brand

Hey, everyone. It's terrific to be with you again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at 4th. I have actually remained in this role for about six years. Fourth, as a lot of you know, is a leading company of software options to the restaurant and hospitality market. Our objective is to help our clients be successful in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, handling inventory, and basically supplying them with tools they need to provide their vision.

It's rare to have companies that are cherished and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, one of the factors I was so excited to have you join our session is the success at Zos was fantastic. I've just met a handful of brands where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand.

When you talk to clients about Chop Shop, they enjoy the location. And to be able to take what is a fairly complicated concept 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 stores next yearit's incredible.

We're going to speak about how to scale a restaurant organization. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has imagine taking one shop, 2 stores, 5 stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, across the state, into several states, and ultimately nationwide, even worldwide reach. It's not simple, particularly in today's environment.

It's not an easy 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 great teams?

Why Is Fast Casual a Wise Investment?

The first concern I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this twice now in the restaurant market. What are some of the lessons you've found out? What has your experience remained in regards to what it requires to really drive success in expanding restaurants? Inform me a little about your path, what you experienced along the method, and possibly a few of the more difficult lessons you discovered.

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

And there's absolutely nothing exactly like Chop Store in regards to what we're doing with a large, diverse menu. Many brand names today are extremely singularly focused in regards to what they're offering from a foodstuff. I feel like we began at a benefit with both brands by having something distinct that filled a niche nobody else was doing.

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

Profitable Hospitality Ventures Arising in 2026

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

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They don't understand how margin improves as sales boost. I have actually seen so lots of business where the numbers simply don't work.

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If you do not have those two things, you should not be building shops. Yeah, possibly both, right? Due to the fact that as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted three things: execution, brand name distinction, and monetary viability. You have actually got to begin with execution. If you don't have an operating design that works, expanding it simply increases issues.

Major Expansion Milestones for 2026

Second, you need an engaging brand name or distinct principle that resonates with clients. And another key lesson is about going into brand-new markets.

But when we expanded to Dallas, I anticipated new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. A lot of operators presume new markets will open at full volume the first day. That almost never ever takes place. And when the shops open sluggish, however you've signed leases and built a monetary model based on higher volumes, you get overextended.