Best Franchise Prospects in 2026

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 info about your background and you can likewise inform them a little bit about Chop Shop.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. We bought the brand name in 2016three unitsand I've grown it to 26. 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 worked in business financing.

I was the first staff member there after private equity purchased the organization. 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 Shop. My hope is that we can replicate the success we had at Zos, and we're off to a truly great start.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

A little more complex than some of the walk-the-line ideas that are out there, however we believe we have actually got something pretty special. We're going to include another store this year and a minimum of 4 stores next year. We will be 31 or so shops by the end of next year.

Comparing Franchise ROI Against Growth Data

I have actually been in this function for about 6 years. 4th, as numerous of you understand, is a leading company of software application solutions to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our goal is to assist our consumers be successful in driving success and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and essentially supplying them with tools they need to provide their vision.

It's uncommon to have business that are beloved and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success year after year. Jason, among the factors I was so excited to have you join our session is the success at Zos was remarkable. I've only met a handful of brands where there was such a strong customer affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the exact same thing at Chop Shop. When you talk with consumers about Chop Shop, they like the place. They speak about its distinction. And to be able to take what is a fairly complicated idea in regards to delivering a fantastic experience for the consumer, and have the ability 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 restaurant business. Every restaurateur I ever talk with has imagine taking one shop, two stores, five shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, across the state, into several states, and eventually nationwide, even international reach. However it's not easy, 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 great teams?

Expansion Updates: New Developments for 2026

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

We talked a 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 an organization. To me, one of the key things, and I feel very fortunate, is that both brand names I've been involved with are distinct.

And there's nothing exactly like Chop Shop in terms of what we're doing with a big, varied menu. Many brands today are very singularly focused in regards to what they're providing from a food item. I feel like we started at an advantage with both brands by having something unique that filled a specific niche no one 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 attempting to do the precise very same thing. So a lot of it starts with the brand name. Does your brand have something distinct that no one else is doing? That's rare.

Hospitality Sector Shifts Redefining 2026

The second thingI came from a finance background, so a lot of my learnings are more financing and data-driven versus a great deal of early start-up restaurateurs who are innovative types. They enjoy the food, they built the menu, they developed the brand. I probably could not do that from scratch. However if you offered me something that has all those parts in place, I can take it from there and put the playbook in location.

They do not know their breakeven sales. They don't understand how margin improves as sales increase. They do not comprehend cash-on-cash returns. I've seen a lot of business where the numbers just don't work. And yet individuals say: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It does not generate income. Stop. You need to discover a concept that is unique.

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If you don't have those 2 things, you should not be building shops. Yeah, maybe both, right? Because as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name distinction, and monetary viability. You have actually got to start with execution. If you don't have an operating model that works, broadening it simply multiplies problems.

Steps to Scale a Dining Concept

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

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