First Watch passes $1 billion in revenue

A dining company based in East Manatee County has passed $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time. First Watch hit the revenue milestone at the end of 2024, company officials announced on a March 11 earnings call. Its 2023 revenue was $891.6 million, so revenue growth was more than 13% last year.

In addition to posting nearly $1.02 billion in total revenue last year, First Watch had $100 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the first time, according to President and CEO Chris Tomasso, who called 2024 a “pivotal year.”

Last year, he says, the teams helped achieve these milestones by improving things like labor efficiency, ticket times and customer experience scores.