High-ROI Business Investments Arising in 2026

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

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. We bought the brand in 2016three unitsand I've grown it to 26. After a short stint of attempting to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment residential or commercial property and worked in corporate financing.

I was the very first staff member there after private equity bought the service. Assisted grow that from 20 to 150 locations, 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 primarily protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We also do salads, sandwiches. The key to the program is we have a drink element also with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast all the time.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

A little more complex than some of the walk-the-line principles that are out there, but we believe we've got something pretty unique. We're going to include another shop this year and at least four shops next year. We will be 31 or so stores by the end of next year.

Best Investment Opportunities in 2026

I have actually been in this function for about six years. Fourth, as numerous of you understand, is a leading service provider of software application solutions to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our objective is to assist our clients be successful in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, handling inventory, and generally supplying them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's uncommon to have companies that are beloved and growing rapidly, that can duplicate that success every year. Jason, one of the factors I was so ecstatic to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I've just fulfilled a handful of brand names where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand.

And now you're doing the very same thing at Chop Store. When you speak with consumers about Chop Shop, they enjoy the location. They discuss its distinction. And to be able to take what is a fairly complicated concept in terms of providing a great experience for the consumer, and be able to grow that from a few shops to now north of 30 shops next yearit's incredible.

We're going to discuss how to scale a restaurant business. Every restaurateur I ever talk to has dreams of taking one store, two shops, five stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, across the state, into numerous states, and eventually nationwide, even global reach. However it's challenging, specifically in today's environment.

Labor is difficult. Inventory costs stay high. It's not a simple time to drive success and development at the same time. But we're grateful to have you here today, Jason, since we're going to dig into that topic. The questions are going to be truly 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 state: well, appearance, how could technology help? How can you utilize innovation as a multiplier to duplicate early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale excellent groups? And lastly, AI.

National Milestones in Brand Scaling

The very first concern I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this two times now in the dining establishment industry. 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 up to follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a company. To me, one of the key things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brand names I have actually been involved with are special.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Store in terms of what we're doing with a big, diverse menu. A lot of brands today are very singularly focused in terms of what they're offering from a food item. I feel like we began at a benefit with both brands by having something distinct that filled a specific niche nobody else was doing.

Due to the fact that it's just harder to stand apart when there are 10, 20, 50 concepts within a two- or three-mile radius trying to do the specific very same thing. So a lot of it starts with the brand. Does your brand have something unique that nobody else is doing? That's uncommon.

Is Fast Casual a Wise Investment?

The second thingI originated from a financing background, so a great deal of my learnings are more finance and data-driven versus a lot of early startup restaurateurs who are innovative types. They enjoy the food, they constructed the menu, they constructed the brand name. I probably couldn't do that from scratch. If you offered me something that has all those parts in location, I can take it from there and put the playbook in place.

They don't know their breakeven sales. They don't comprehend how margin enhances as sales boost. I have actually seen so lots of companies where the numbers simply do not work.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

The Advantages of Fast Casual Expansion in 2026

Second, you require a compelling brand name or distinct concept that resonates with consumers. And 3rd, the math has to work. If you don't understand your unit economics, your repaired and variable costs, you may be broadening blind and losing cash. Exactly. And another essential lesson is about getting in new markets.

When we broadened to Dallas, I anticipated new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the first year. Too numerous operators presume new markets will open at complete volume day one. That almost never occurs. And when the stores open slow, however you've signed leases and developed a monetary model based on higher volumes, you get overextended.