First Watch (restaurant chain)

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First Watch Restaurants, Inc
First Watch
TypePublic
Nasdaq: FWRG
IndustryRestaurant
GenreCasual dining
Founded1983; 38 years ago (1983)
Pacific Grove, California, U.S.
Founders
  • Ken Pendery
  • John Sullivan
Headquarters
Bradenton, Florida
,
U.S.
Number of locations
420+
Area served
United States
Key people
Chris Tomasso, CEO
ProductsBreakfast platters
Lunch platters
RevenueIncrease US$1 billion (FY December 30, 2019) [1]
Number of employees
10,000[1] (2019)
Subsidiaries
  • Egg & I Restaurants
  • Bread & Company
Websitewww.firstwatch.com

First Watch is an American restaurant chain based in Bradenton, Florida.[2] As of June 2021, the chain has more than 420 locations in 28 states and 9,000 employees.[3] 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, 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]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Fast-Growing First Watch Promotes Chris Tomasso to CEO".
  2. ^ "Restaurant chain First Watch announces construction of new headquarters in Manatee County". Business Observer. June 25, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "First Watch's bold growth move | Jax Daily Record | Financial News & Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida". Financial News & Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida. September 11, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Antonation, Mark (May 28, 2015). "First Watch Opens First Denver Branch, Acquires The Egg & I". Westword. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  5. ^ danny (February 2, 2016). "First Watch Inks Largest Franchise Agreement to Date". Food Newsfeed. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "Our History - First Watch". First Watch website. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  7. ^ Faqs Archived March 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine First Watch website
  8. ^ a b Mark Albright Breakfast, lunch, success First Watch chain is making the most of the early end of the day March 27, 2012, Tampa Bay Times[dead link]
  9. ^ a b Reuters Editorial. "Advent invests in U.S. café operator First Watch Restaurants". U.S. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  10. ^ John Hielscher Firm buys First Watch restaurant chain Archived copy December 23, 2011, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
  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.

External links[]

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