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

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. I've been doing this for about nine years now. We bought the brand in 2016three unitsand I have actually grown it to 26. Prior to this, I've invested many of my career in hospitality in some shape or form. After a short stint of trying to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into gambling establishment property and worked in business financing.

I was the first worker there after private equity purchased business. Assisted 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 replicate 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. The secret to the program is we have a drink element as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes.

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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 have actually got something quite unique. We're going to include another shop this year and a minimum of 4 shops next year. We will be 31 or so shops by the end of next year.

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Hey, everyone. It's fantastic to be with you again. My name is Clinton Anderson. I'm the CEO here at 4th. I have actually been in this role for about six years. Fourth, as much of you know, is a leading supplier of software application solutions to the restaurant and hospitality market. Our objective is to assist our customers succeed in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, handling inventory, and essentially supplying them with tools they need to provide their vision.

It's unusual to have companies that are precious and growing rapidly, that can repeat that success every year. Jason, among the factors I was so excited 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 name.

And now you're doing the same thing at Chop Shop. When you speak with clients about Chop Store, they love the location. They discuss its differentiation. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complicated concept in regards to delivering a terrific experience for the client, and be able to grow that from a couple of stores to now north of 30 shops next yearit's remarkable.

We're going to talk about how to scale a dining establishment business. Every restaurateur I ever talk to has dreams of taking one store, two stores, 5 stores, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding across the city, throughout the state, into several states, and ultimately nationwide, even global reach. However it's hard, especially in today's environment.

Labor is tough. Inventory costs remain high. It's not an easy time to drive success and development at the exact same time. But we're glad to have you here today, Jason, since we're going to go into that subject. The questions are going to be really around: how do you grow a company? How do you scale it and make it successful? How do you duplicate early success? And from there, after we speak about your experience and the lessons you've learned, we 'd love to then state: well, look, how could innovation help? How can you utilize technology as a multiplier to duplicate early success to significant success? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale terrific teams? And last but not least, AI.

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The very first question I have for you, Jasonlook, you have actually done this two times now in the restaurant market. What are a few of the lessons you've learned? What has your experience been 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 possibly a few of the harder lessons you discovered.

We talked a bit before we started about LinkedIn, and I have actually got a post teed approximately follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a business. To me, among the essential things, and I feel extremely lucky, is that both brand names I have actually been involved with are special.

And there's absolutely nothing exactly like Chop Shop in regards to what we're making with a large, varied menu. Most brand names today are extremely singularly focused in regards to what they're offering from a foodstuff. I seem like we started at an advantage with both brand names by having something distinct that filled a niche no one else was doing.

Due to the fact that it's simply more difficult to stand out when there are 10, 20, 50 ideas within a two- or three-mile radius attempting to do the specific same thing. A lot of it begins with the brand name. Does your brand have something unique that no one else is doing? That's unusual.

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The second thingI originated 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 like the food, they developed the menu, they built the brand. I most likely couldn't do that from scratch. If you offered me something that has all those components in place, I can take it from there and put the playbook in location.

They do not understand their breakeven sales. They do not understand how margin improves as sales boost. They don't comprehend cash-on-cash returns. I have actually seen a lot of companies where the numbers simply do not work. And yet people say: let's open 10 more. And I'll say: why? It doesn't generate income. Stop. You need to find a concept that is distinct.

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If you do not have those two things, you shouldn't be constructing shops. Yeah, possibly both? Because as I hear your description, you've highlighted three things: execution, brand distinction, and financial practicality. You have actually got to start with execution. If you don't have an operating model that works, expanding it just multiplies issues.

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Second, you require an engaging brand name or unique idea that resonates with clients. And another key lesson is about going into new markets.

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