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And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of Fourth, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. Jason, how about I let you provide the audience some details about your background and you can also inform them a little bit about Chop Shop.

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. I have actually been doing this for about 9 years now. We purchased the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. Prior to this, I've spent the majority of my profession in hospitality in some shape or form. After a brief stint of attempting to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment residential or commercial property and operated in business financing.

I was the first worker there after personal equity purchased the business. Helped 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 really 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 a few of the walk-the-line concepts that are out there, but we believe we've got something quite special. We're going to add another store this year and at least four shops next year. We will be 31 or so shops by the end of next year.

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I have actually been in this function for about 6 years. 4th, as numerous of you know, is a leading provider of software application solutions to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our goal is to help our customers be effective in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, handling inventory, and basically supplying them with tools they require to deliver their vision.

It's rare to have business that are cherished and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success every year. Jason, among the reasons I was so excited to have you join our session is the success at Zos was incredible. I have actually only satisfied a handful of brands where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand.

And now you're doing the exact same thing at Chop Store. When you talk with clients about Chop Shop, they enjoy the place. They discuss its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a fairly complicated idea in terms of providing a terrific experience for the customer, and be able to grow that from a few stores to now north of 30 shops next yearit's incredible.

We're going to talk about how to scale a dining establishment organization. Every restaurateur I ever talk with has dreams of taking one store, 2 stores, five shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into numerous states, and ultimately national, even global reach. It's not easy, particularly 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 effective? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale great groups?

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The very first concern I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this twice now in the restaurant industry. What are some of the lessons you've discovered? What has your experience remained in terms of what it requires to truly drive success in broadening restaurants? Inform me a little about your course, what you experienced along the method, and perhaps some of the more difficult lessons you found out.

We talked a bit before we started 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 crucial things, and I feel extremely lucky, is that both brand names I have actually been involved with are distinct.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Shop in terms of what we're making with a big, varied menu. A lot of brands today are extremely singularly focused in regards to what they're offering from a foodstuff. I feel like we began at an advantage with both brand names by having something distinct that filled a specific niche no one else was doing.

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

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

They don't know their breakeven sales. They don't understand how margin enhances as sales boost. They do not understand cash-on-cash returns. I have actually seen numerous companies where the numbers just do not work. And yet individuals state: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It doesn't make cash. Stop. You need to find a concept that is special.

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If you do not have those 2 things, you shouldn't be developing stores. Because as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name distinction, and financial practicality.

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Second, you require an engaging brand name or distinct principle that resonates with consumers. And another essential lesson is about getting in brand-new markets.

However when we expanded to Dallas, I anticipated brand-new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. Too numerous operators assume new markets will open at full volume the first day. That nearly never ever occurs. And when the stores open slow, but you've signed leases and built a financial model based on higher volumes, you get overextended.