Is Fast Casual the Best Move?

Thank you. And we also 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 details about your background and you can likewise inform them a little bit about Chop Shop. And then I'll let you take it from there, Clinton.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Store. We bought the brand name in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. After a short stint of trying to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment home and worked in corporate finance.

I was the first worker there after personal equity bought business. Helped 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 replicate 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. 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 component also with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast throughout the day.

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

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I have actually been in this function for about six years. Fourth, as many of you know, is a leading supplier of software options to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our objective is to help our consumers be effective in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and basically supplying them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's rare to have business that are cherished and growing quickly, that can repeat that success year after year. Jason, one of the reasons I was so thrilled to have you join our session is the success at Zos was incredible. I've only satisfied a handful of brands where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand.

And now you're doing the exact same thing at Chop Shop. When you talk with clients about Chop Shop, they like the location. They speak about its distinction. And to be able to take what is a fairly complex idea in regards to providing a terrific experience for the consumer, and be able to grow that from a couple of stores to now north of 30 shops next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to speak about how to scale a dining establishment company. 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, across the state, into numerous states, and ultimately national, even worldwide reach. It's not simple, particularly in today's environment.

Labor is tough. Inventory costs stay high. It's not an easy time to drive success and growth at the same time. However we're glad to have you here today, Jason, due to the fact that we're going to dig into that subject. The questions are going to be actually around: how do you grow an organization? How do you scale it and make it successful? How do you replicate early success? And from there, after we speak about your experience and the lessons you've learned, we 'd love to then state: well, appearance, how could innovation assist? How can you use innovation as a multiplier to duplicate early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale terrific groups? And last but not least, AI.

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The first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually 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 broadening dining establishments?

We talked a bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I've got a post teed as much as follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a company. To me, among the crucial things, and I feel very fortunate, is that both brands I have actually been involved with are unique.

And there's nothing exactly like Chop Shop in terms of what we're finishing with a large, varied menu. A lot of brands today are really singularly focused in terms of what they're providing from a food product. I seem like we started at an advantage with both brands by having something unique that filled a niche no one else was doing.

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

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The second thingI came from a financing background, so a great deal of my learnings are more financing and data-driven versus a great deal of early startup restaurateurs who are creative types. They like the food, they constructed the menu, they constructed the brand name. I probably could not do that from scratch. But if you offered me something that has all those parts in location, 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 enhances as sales boost. I've seen so lots of companies where the numbers simply do not work.

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If you do not have those two things, you shouldn't be developing shops. Since as I hear your description, you've highlighted three things: execution, brand name distinction, and financial practicality.

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

However when we expanded to Dallas, I anticipated new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too numerous operators assume new markets will open at full volume day one. That almost never ever takes place. And when the stores open sluggish, however you've signed leases and built a monetary model based upon greater volumes, you get overextended.