First Watch opens record number of new restaurants in 2025

East Manatee County-based First Watch set a company record in terms of new restaurant openings during a calendar year. The daytime dining concept added 64 restaurants across 23 states in 2025.

Last year, First Watch entered three new states. In January, the company welcomed its first restaurant in Massachusetts, the 30th state for the brand. Next, First Watch entered Idaho, its 31st state, with the May opening of an eatery near Boise. Nevada marked its 32nd state when the company launched a restaurant in North Las Vegas in September.

As of Dec. 28, 2025, First Watch has 633 restaurants system-wide — including 560 that are company-owned and 73 franchise-owned — in 32 states.

For 2025, same-restaurant sales growth was up 3.6%, while same-restaurant traffic growth increased 0.5%, according to preliminary operational metrics.

The company made strategic acquisitions last year, bringing a number of franchise-owned restaurants under corporate control. In April 2025, it acquired 16 franchise-owned First Watch restaurants and development rights in North and South Carolina in a $49 million deal.

“We feel like we’re running on all cylinders,” First Watch CEO and President Chris Tomasso says at the Jan. 12 ICR Conference, an annual event in Orlando covering consumer trends. According to Tomasso, First Watch is "the fastest-growing full-service restaurant company in America."

Since going public in 2021, First Watch has added 250 restaurants, Tomasso says.

Through "our focus on disciplined, thoughtful new-unit expansion,” Tomasso says, the company plans to continue “growing at about a 10% clip” each year until reaching its goal of 2,200 restaurants.

“Our 2024 and 2025 new restaurant classes combined continue to outperform the comparable restaurant base and our underwriting expectations, and our pipeline for 2026 is strong,” Tomasso says in a statement. “We remain confident in the continued execution of our long-term strategy and extending our lead in daytime dining.”

One key to the company’s success with new restaurants is that it has a “people pipeline” of veteran managers that supports its real estate pipeline, Tomasso says. He notes that managers from existing stores have moved into new markets where the brand has made its debut. 

The company has also seen declining turnover rates for 10 consecutive quarters, according to First Watch CFO Mel Hope.

“Our turnover rates have historically been below industry average,” Hope says at the ICR Conference. He attributes the trend to more than pay, saying the environment and potential for advancement help retain employees seeking to spend their career in restaurants.

“You have the opportunity to move up into management because of the rate of growth,” Hope says.

Despite its expansion, First Watch is “very selective,” Hope says, about site selection. For every restaurant that is approved and developed, Hope says the company is probably looking at eight or 12 different sites in the area that it does not enter. 

“We are very disciplined,” Hope says, only going into sites targeting an 18 to 20% return on investment. "When we land a restaurant, our success rate is very high."

First Watch posted nearly $1.02 billion in revenue in 2024.