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And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, 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 tell them a little bit about Chop Shop.

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. I've been doing this for about 9 years now. We bought the brand name in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. Prior to this, I have actually spent most of my profession in hospitality in some shape or kind. After a short stint of attempting to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino property and worked in corporate financing.

I was the very first employee there after private equity purchased the organization. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 locations, took it public in 2014, and after that 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 a really good start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. The key 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 complex than a few of the walk-the-line concepts that are out there, but we believe we have actually got something quite special. We're going to add another shop this year and at least 4 shops next year. So we will be 31 approximately shops by the end of next year.

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Hey, everybody. It's great to be with you again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at Fourth. I have actually been in this role for about six years. 4th, as a number of you understand, is a leading supplier of software application services to the restaurant and hospitality market. Our goal is to assist our consumers be successful in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, handling inventory, and basically supplying them with tools they require to provide their vision.

It's rare to have companies that are cherished and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success year after year. Jason, one of the factors I was so fired up to have you join our session is the success at Zos was incredible. I have actually just fulfilled a handful of brand names where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand.

And now you're doing the very same thing at Chop Shop. When you speak with clients about Chop Shop, they enjoy the location. They speak about its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a relatively complex concept in regards to providing a great experience for the client, and have the ability to grow that from a few shops to now north of 30 stores next yearit's remarkable.

We're going to talk about how to scale a restaurant service. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has dreams of taking one shop, two shops, 5 stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, throughout the state, into several states, and eventually nationwide, even global reach. But it's hard, specifically in today's environment.

Labor is tough. Inventory costs remain high. It's not a simple time to drive success and growth at the same time. But we're delighted to have you here today, Jason, since we're going to dig into that subject. The concerns are going to be actually around: how do you grow a company? How do you scale it and make it effective? How do you duplicate early success? And from there, after we talk about your experience and the lessons you've found out, we 'd like to then say: well, appearance, how could innovation help? How can you utilize innovation as a multiplier to duplicate early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond innovation, how do you scale excellent teams? And lastly, AI.

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The first concern I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this two times now in the dining establishment market. What are some of the lessons you've found out? What has your experience remained in terms of what it takes to really drive success in broadening dining establishments? Tell me a little about your path, what you experienced along the method, and perhaps a few of the more difficult lessons you learned.

We talked a little 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 extremely lucky, is that both brand names I have actually been involved with are unique.

And there's nothing exactly like Chop Shop in regards to what we're making with a large, varied menu. The majority of brands today are really singularly focused in terms of what they're offering from a foodstuff. I feel like we began at an advantage with both brands by having something unique that filled a niche nobody else was doing.

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

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The 2nd thingI came from a financing background, so a lot of my knowings are more finance and data-driven versus a lot of early start-up restaurateurs who are innovative types. They enjoy the food, they built the menu, they developed the brand name.

They do not know their breakeven sales. They do not comprehend how margin enhances as sales increase. I've seen so lots of 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 stores. Yeah, maybe both? Due to the fact that as I hear your description, you've highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name differentiation, and financial practicality. You have actually got to begin with execution. If you don't have an operating design that works, broadening it simply increases problems.

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Second, you require an engaging brand name or distinct idea that resonates with customers. And 3rd, the math has to work. If you do not understand your unit economics, your fixed and variable expenses, you might be expanding blind and losing money. Exactly. And another essential lesson is about going into brand-new markets.

When we broadened to Dallas, I expected brand-new shops to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too many operators assume brand-new markets will open at complete volume day one.