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And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. Jason, how about I let you offer the audience some info about your background and you can also tell them a little bit about Chop Shop.

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 brief stint of attempting to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino residential or commercial property and worked in corporate finance.

I was the very first employee there after private equity purchased the business. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 locations, took it public in 2014, and after that 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 an actually excellent start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. The secret to the program is we have a drink component 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, but we think we have actually got something quite unique. We're going to include another shop this year and a minimum of four 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 role for about 6 years. 4th, as numerous of you know, is a leading supplier of software options to the dining establishment and hospitality market. Our objective is to help our consumers be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, handling stock, and basically supplying them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

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

And now you're doing the same thing at Chop Store. When you speak with clients about Chop Store, they like the location. They discuss its distinction. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complex idea in regards to delivering an excellent experience for the consumer, and have the ability to grow that from a few stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's amazing.

We're going to speak about how to scale a dining establishment service. Every restaurateur I ever talk with has imagine taking one shop, two stores, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into several states, and ultimately national, even worldwide reach. But it's hard, specifically in today's environment.

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

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

We talked a bit before we started 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 company. To me, one of the essential things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brands I've been included with are special.

And there's absolutely nothing exactly like Chop Store in regards to what we're finishing with a big, varied menu. A lot of brand names today are very singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a food. I feel like we began 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. Does your brand name have something distinct that no one else is doing?

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The 2nd thingI came from a financing background, so a lot of my knowings are more financing and data-driven versus a lot of early start-up restaurateurs who are creative types. They like the food, they built the menu, they developed the brand.

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

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If you do not have those two things, you shouldn't be developing stores. Because as I hear your description, you've highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name differentiation, and monetary viability.

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Second, you need a compelling brand or special concept that resonates with clients. And another key lesson is about entering new markets.

When we expanded to Dallas, I expected new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. Too lots of operators assume new markets will open at complete volume day one. That nearly never takes place. And when the stores open slow, however you have actually signed leases and developed a financial model based on higher volumes, you get overextended.