First Watch | |
Company type | Public |
Nasdaq: FWRG | |
Industry | Restaurant |
Genre | Casual dining |
Founded | 1983Pacific Grove, California, U.S. | , in
Founders |
|
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 500 |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Chris Tomasso (CEO) [1] |
Products | Breakfast platters Lunch platters |
Subsidiaries |
|
Website | www |
This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(January 2024) |
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]
Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, Timmies, or Timmy's, is a multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain based in Canada with headquarters in Toronto; it serves coffee, donuts, sandwiches, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service restaurant chain, with 5,701 restaurants in 13 countries, as of September 2023.
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Einstein Bros. Bagels is an American chain of bagel cafes. In the 1990s, the company bought out several retail bagel chains from regions around the US which lacked bagel traditions. After filing for bankruptcy in 2000, the company was bought out by New World Coffee. It became part of Panera Brands in August 2021.
Bruegger's Enterprises, Inc. is a restaurant operator and subsidiary of the Luxembourg-based company JAB Holding Company. It and its wholly owned subsidiary Threecaf Brands Canada, Inc., are franchisers and operators of Bruegger's bakery-cafés, and Michel's Baguette.
Au Bon Pain is an American fast casual restaurant, bakery, and café chain headquartered in Richardson, Texas, which operates 175 locations in the United States, Thailand, and Taiwan. The company is currently owned by AMPEX Brands.
Village Inn is a casual-dining restaurant chain in the United States. Its restaurants are known for their breakfast menu items. Also, they feature a variety of salads, sandwiches, burgers, melts, and dinner items. Their pies have won numerous awards from the American Pie Council.
Kenny Rogers Roasters is a chain of chicken-based restaurants founded in 1991 by country musician Kenny Rogers and former KFC CEO John Y. Brown Jr., who was a former governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Brown had been an early investor in Kentucky Fried Chicken from 1964 to 1971. During his successful music career, Rogers had appeared in several commercials for the Dole Food Company before founding this restaurant chain.
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