First Watch completes $49M acquisition, adds 500 employees

Daytime dining concept First Watch has completed a $49 million deal, acquiring 16 franchise-owned First Watch restaurants and development rights in North and South Carolina. Marking the second-largest acquisition in the history of the East Manatee County-based company, the deal was made on a cash-free, debt-free basis, according to a statement.

The 16 acquired restaurants are in North Carolina's Charlotte and Concord markets as well as South Carolina's Columbia and Greenville markets.

“The acquisition of these 16 locations helps solidify corporate ownership of First Watch restaurants along the East Coast — and provides us with additional territories to grow organically for years to come,” First Watch President and CEO Chris Tomasso says in a statement.

Bringing restaurants under corporate ownership is part of the growth strategy for First Watch, which plans to expand from more than 570 to 2,200 locations at a rate of 10% per year.

First Watch initially announced the planned acquisition last November. The seller was Good Morning Carolinas LLC, which includes Houston Pizza Venture, HPV-C LLC, FV3 LLC, Christopher Osborn, Michael White and Joseph Seaman, according to a November SEC filing.

Since May 2023, First Watch has acquired 64 franchise restaurants through eight acquisitions, according to a statement. Its largest acquisition was a $75 million deal that included 21 restaurants and development rights from a franchisee in the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina, which closed in April 2024.

“The strategic acquisition of franchise-operated restaurants continues to be an important part of our long-term growth and value creation strategy," Tomasso says, "and we expect these restaurants will generate unit volumes and restaurant-level operating profit margins in line with our company-owned restaurants."

First Watch consisted of 572 system-wide restaurants, including 489 company-owned businesses and 83 franchise-owned establishments, at the end of 2024.

The April acquisition brings more than restaurants under the corporate umbrella. Over 500 employees have become part of the First Watch corporate system as a result, which Tomasso says is an “incredible responsibility that’s very important to us.”

In 2024, First Watch ranked No. 1 on a list of the nation's 200 most-loved workplaces compiled by Newsweek based on employee feedback.

First Watch has more than 14,000 employees. The company, founded in 1983, posted nearly $1.02 billion in revenue in 2024.