First Watch Restaurants, Inc
First Watch
TypePublic
Nasdaq: FWRG
IndustryRestaurant
GenreCasual dining
Founded1983 (1983)
Pacific Grove, California, U.S.
Founders
  • Ken Pendery
  • John Sullivan
Headquarters
Sarasota, Florida
,
U.S.
Number of locations
500
Area served
United States
Key people
Chris Tomasso, CEO[1]
ProductsBreakfast platters
Lunch platters
Subsidiaries
  • Egg & I Restaurants
  • Bread & Company
Websitewww.firstwatch.com

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 and 9,000 employees. 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 menu items such as avocado toast, smoked salmon eggs benedict, farm stand breakfast tacos, lemon ricotta pancakes, and a fresh juice bar.[5]

History

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]

2014-present

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]

References

  1. ↑ Klein, Danny (June 2018). "Fast-Growing First Watch Promotes Chris Tomasso to CEO". FSR.
  2. ↑ "Restaurant chain First Watch announces construction of new headquarters in Manatee County". Business Observer. June 25, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "First Watch's bold growth move". Jax Daily Record. Jacksonville, Florida. September 11, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Antonation, Mark (May 28, 2015). "First Watch Opens First Denver Branch, Acquires The Egg & I". Westword. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  5. ↑ "First Watch Inks Largest Franchise Agreement to Date". Food Newsfeed. February 2, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Our History". First Watch. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". First Watch. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Albright, Mark (March 26, 2012). "A shorter day works for First Watch". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Hirsch, Lauren. "Advent invests in U.S. café operator First Watch Restaurants". Reuters. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  10. ↑ Hielscher, John (December 23, 2011). "Firm buys First Watch restaurant chain". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Restaurant Chain First Watch Revamps Coffee Program with Single-Origin Focus". Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. January 11, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  12. ↑ "First Watch raises $170M in IPO". Restaurant Business. September 30, 2021.
  13. ↑ "First Watch acquires six franchise restaurants in US". MSN. August 10, 2023.
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