First Watch enters Jacksonville

BRADENTON — First Watch, the Bradenton-based breakfast-and-lunch restaurant chain, will open two locations in Jacksonville by the end of this year, increasing the number of First Watch restaurants operating nationwide from to 87.

“Jacksonville has always been an area of interest to us,” explained chief marketing officer Chris Tomasso in a release. “We're always looking for new markets to expand to within our home state.”

First Watch hopes to add between 10 and 15 new restaurant locations this year, including its additions to the Jacksonville market. The company expects to have opened 115 restaurants by the end of 2012.