Hospitality Sector Trends Redefining 2026

Thank you. And we also have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the conversation with Jason. So Jason, how about I let you give the audience some info about your background and you can likewise inform them a little bit about Chop Store. And then I'll let you take it from there, Clinton.

My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. We bought the brand name in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. After a brief stint of trying to be an accounting professional for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment residential or commercial property and worked in business finance.

I was the very first staff member there after private equity bought business. Assisted grow that from 20 to 150 places, took it public in 2014, and after that 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 excellent 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 drink element too with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes. We do all stables, we do breakfast all day.

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A little more complicated than a few of the walk-the-line ideas that are out there, but we believe we've got something quite special. We're going to include another shop this year and a minimum of four shops next year. So we will be 31 or two shops by the end of next year.

Key Market Shifts Shaping 2026 Expansion

I have actually been in this function for about 6 years. Fourth, as numerous of you know, is a leading company of software services to the dining establishment and hospitality industry. Our goal is to help our customers be successful in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, managing stock, and basically supplying them with tools they need to provide their vision.

It's uncommon to have business that are cherished and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success every year. Jason, among the factors I was so thrilled to have you join our session is the success at Zos was amazing. I have actually just satisfied a handful of brand names where there was such a strong client affinity for the brand name.

When you talk to customers about Chop Store, they love the location. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complex principle in terms of providing an excellent experience for the customer, and be able to grow that from a few shops to now north of 30 shops next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to discuss how to scale a dining establishment organization. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has imagine taking one shop, two stores, five shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, across the state, into several states, and eventually nationwide, even international reach. It's not simple, specifically in today's environment.

Labor is difficult. Stock expenses remain high. It's not a simple time to drive success and growth at the same time. However we're delighted to have you here today, Jason, due to the fact that we're going to dig into that subject. The concerns are going to be really around: how do you grow a business? How do you scale it and make it successful? How do you reproduce early success? And from there, after we discuss your experience and the lessons you've found out, we 'd like to then state: well, look, how could technology assist? How can you use technology as a multiplier to replicate early success to far-reaching success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale excellent groups? And last but not least, AI.

How to Scale a Restaurant Concept

The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this twice now in the dining establishment market. What are a few of the lessons you've learned? What has your experience remained in regards to what it requires to really drive success in broadening dining establishments? Tell me a little about your course, what you experienced along the way, and perhaps a few of the harder lessons you learned.

We talked a little bit before we started 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, among the crucial things, and I feel extremely lucky, is that both brand names I've been involved with are special.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Store in regards to what we're making with a large, varied menu. Most brand names today are very singularly focused in regards to 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 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 ideas within a two- or three-mile radius attempting to do the exact same thing. So a lot of it starts with the brand. Does your brand have something unique that nobody else is doing? That's rare.

Restaurant Sector Shifts Shaping 2026

The 2nd thingI originated from a financing background, so a lot of my knowings are more finance and data-driven versus a great deal of early startup restaurateurs who are creative types. They love the food, they developed the menu, they developed the brand name. I most likely could not do that from scratch. However if you offered me something that has all those elements in place, I can take it from there and put the playbook in location.

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They don't understand how margin enhances as sales boost. I've seen so lots of business where the numbers just don't work.

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If you don't have those 2 things, you shouldn't be constructing stores. Because as I hear your description, you've highlighted 3 things: execution, brand differentiation, and monetary viability.

Key Market Milestones for 2026 Growth

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

But when we broadened to Dallas, I anticipated brand-new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too many operators assume new markets will open at complete volume the first day. That almost never occurs. And when the stores open sluggish, but you've signed leases and built a financial model based on greater volumes, you get overextended.