Fast Casual Market Share Trends

And we likewise have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of Fourth, who will be moderating the discussion with Jason. Jason, how about I let you provide the audience some details 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 bought the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. After a quick stint of trying to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment home and worked in corporate financing.

I was the very first employee there after private equity purchased the company. Helped 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 Store. My hope is that we can reproduce the success we had at Zos, and we're off to an actually great start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. It is mostly protein bowlsabout 40 percent of the mix. We likewise do salads, sandwiches. The key to the program is we have a beverage component too 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 some of the walk-the-line concepts that are out there, however we believe we have actually got something quite special. We're going to add another store this year and a minimum of 4 shops next year. So we will be 31 or so stores by the end of next year.

The Advantages of Fast Casual Expansion in 2026

Hey, everyone. It's terrific to be with you again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at Fourth. I've been in this function for about six years. Fourth, as a lot of you know, is a leading supplier of software application services to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our objective is to help our clients succeed in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, handling inventory, and basically offering them with tools they require to deliver their vision.

It's rare to have companies that are beloved and growing quickly, that can duplicate that success every 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 just fulfilled a handful of brand names where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand name.

And now you're doing the exact same thing at Chop Store. When you speak with customers about Chop Shop, they like the location. They discuss its distinction. And to be able to take what is a fairly complicated concept in terms of providing a fantastic experience for the customer, and have the ability to grow that from a couple of shops to now north of 30 stores next yearit's remarkable.

We're going to discuss how to scale a restaurant company. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has dreams of taking one store, two shops, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into several states, and eventually national, even worldwide reach. However it's challenging, especially in today's environment.

It's not an easy time to drive success and development at the same time. How do you scale it and make it effective? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale great teams?

Corporate Growth Milestones for 2026

The first question 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've got a post teed as much as follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a service. To me, one of the key things, and I feel very fortunate, is that both brand names I have actually been involved with are special.

And there's nothing exactly like Chop Store in regards to what we're doing with a big, diverse menu. Many brand names today are really singularly focused in terms of 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 starts with the brand name. Does your brand have something distinct that no one else is doing?

Major Growth Milestones for 2026

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 creative types. They love the food, they developed the menu, they developed the brand.

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They do not comprehend how margin improves as sales boost. I have actually seen so many companies where the numbers just do not work.

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If you don't have those two things, you should not be constructing shops. Since as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name differentiation, and monetary viability.

Expansion News: New Developments for 2026

Second, you need an engaging brand name or special concept that resonates with clients. And another essential lesson is about entering new markets.

But when we expanded to Dallas, I anticipated new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. A lot of operators assume brand-new markets will open at complete volume the first day. That almost never ever occurs. And when the shops open slow, however you've signed leases and built a financial design based on greater volumes, you get overextended.