 | |
| First Watch | |
| Company type | Public |
| Nasdaq: FWRG | |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Genre | Casual dining |
| Founded | 1983; 41 years ago (1983), in Pacific Grove, California, U.S. |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters |
,
U.S.
|
Number of locations | 500 |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Chris Tomasso (CEO)[1] |
| Products | Breakfast platters Lunch platters |
| Subsidiaries |
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| Website | www |
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First Watch Restaurants, Inc., commonly referred to as First Watch, is an American restaurant chain based in Bradenton, Florida.[2] As of August 2023, the chain has more than 500 locations[3] in 29 states[citation needed] and 9,000 employees.[citation needed] First Watch is also the owner of Sun & Fork by First Watch, a fast-casual café concept located in Nashville, Tennessee.[4]
First Watch offers a variety of breakfast items marketed as being healthier than other breakfast chains.[5]
The name "First Watch" is a nautical reference to the first work shift aboard a ship as First Watch restaurants are only open from 7:00 AM to 2:30 PM.[6] The first location was opened in Pacific Grove, California in 1983 by Ken Pendery and John Sullivan. The co-owners founded it after leaving the Le Peep breakfast chain in Colorado. In 1986, they moved their headquarters to Bradenton, Florida.[7]
In 2014, First Watch bought The Good Egg, which is located in Arizona. As of 2021, 18 of The Good Egg restaurants have been converted into First Watch restaurants.[3] In May 2015, the company acquired the Colorado-based Egg & I Restaurants chain.[3] The Egg & I has 114 eateries across twenty states.[4] Not every Egg & I Restaurant location will become a First Watch, but as of 2016, 22 conversions had been completed. In 2012 First Watch ranked as the best breakfast chain in a survey of 150,000 Consumer Reports readers earning top ratings in taste, service, value, and menu choices.[8]
In 2017 private equity firm Advent International bought a majority stake in First Watch. Advent International bought First Watch from Freeman Spogli & Co., which obtained First Watch in 2011.[9] Freeman Spogli & Co. bought out the 85 percent stake previously held by Catterton Partners.[8] Catterton's stake was acquired in 2004 with a $35 million investment that allowed First Watch to expand in the Southeast and Midwest, doubling the number of First Watch restaurants.[10] First Watch has a large presence in Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, and Arizona. First Watch and the Egg & I restaurants serve breakfast, brunch, and lunch and offer a wide variety of items.[9]
In 2018, First Watch began to source its coffee from Huila, Colombia to "support hard-working women and their families in Huila in 2018." Royal Cup Coffee, an Alabama-based coffee company, roasts the coffee.[11] In October 2021, First Watch went public with an initial public offering raising $170 million on Nasdaq.[12]
The company bought back six of its franchise locations in August 2023.[13]
