Major Growth Milestones for 2026

Otherwise, they get rose-colored glasses about success in the home market and assume it will translate rapidly. You mentioned anticipating 5070% volumes. I have actually even seen cases where it's just 2530% at launch.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

So you require equity sponsors who believe in the vision and the group. Another lesson: you need to open four to 6 shops in a new market within 2 to 3 years. That's pricey, but it creates emergency, develops awareness, and justifies above-store management. Without it, you stay slow and unprofitable.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

At Chop Store, we deliberately built strong bases in Phoenix and Dallas initially. That provided us the profitability to stand up to sluggish starts in Houston and Atlanta. And we were lucky that Dallasour 2nd marketwas also where our team lived. Having the entire group in-market to support shops, hire, and make sure culture was big.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Regional Success in Corporate Scaling

Individuals typically undervalue how critical team is to scaling. How have you approached structure and scaling your team? This is something I'm actually pleased with. Our group took all the important things we disliked from past jobsfeeling underappreciated, underpaid, growth-stifledand developed the opposite culture here. We highlight development mindset and career pathing.