{"id":100310,"date":"2025-12-30T19:33:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T19:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/100310\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T19:33:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T19:33:06","slug":"tampa-bays-top-companies-no-5-first-watch-restaurant-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/100310\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay\u2019s Top Companies No. 5: First Watch Restaurant Group"},"content":{"rendered":"

First Watch Restaurant Group<\/a> continues to scale as one of the most prominent restaurant companies tied to Tampa Bay<\/a>, posting strong sales growth and expanding its national footprint in its latest quarter.<\/p>\n

In Q3 2025, First Watch<\/a> reported same-restaurant<\/a> sales growth of 7.1% and same-restaurant traffic growth of 2.6%. The results signal both higher guest counts and increased spending at existing locations.<\/p>\n

Total revenue rose 25.6% to $316.0 million, up from $251.6 million during the same period last year.<\/p>\n

READ: BIGGEST COMPANIES IN TAMPA BAY<\/a><\/p>\n

The daytime dining<\/a> company ended the quarter with 620 system-wide restaurants across 32 states, including 548 company-owned locations and 72 franchise-owned locations. First Watch focuses on breakfast, brunch and lunch.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur strong third quarter results are testament to the enduring strength of our business<\/a> model,\u201d CEO and President Chris Tomasso said in the company\u2019s earnings release.<\/p>\n

Why the quarter matters<\/p>\n

For restaurant companies, same-restaurant performance is one of the clearest measures of brand health. <\/p>\n

It removes the impact of new store openings and focuses on how well-established locations are performing.<\/p>\n

READ: Tampa Bay\u2019s Top Companies No. 1: Jabil<\/a><\/p>\n

First Watch\u2019s 7.1% same-restaurant sales growth<\/a> was supported by 2.6% traffic growth, showing that more customers are choosing the brand and spending more once they arrive.<\/p>\n

Profitability also improved. Income from operations margin increased to 3.2% from 2.5% a year earlier.<\/p>\n

Restaurant-level operating profit margin rose to 19.7%, up from 18.9%. Adjusted EBITDA climbed to $34.1 million, compared to $25.6 million in the same quarter of 2024.<\/p>\n

Net income reached $3.0 million, or $0.05 per diluted share.<\/p>\n

Expansion remains central to the strategy<\/p>\n

First Watch continues to grow through new restaurant openings. <\/p>\n

During Q3, the company opened 21 new system-wide restaurants across 14 states, with one planned closure.<\/p>\n

For the full fiscal year ending Dec. 28, 2025, the company reaffirmed its outlook and now projects:<\/p>\n

Same-restaurant sales growth of about 4%<\/p>\n

Same-restaurant traffic growth of about 1%<\/p>\n

Total revenue growth of 20% to 21%<\/p>\n

Adjusted EBITDA of about $123.0 million<\/p>\n

Capital expenditures of about $150.0 million<\/p>\n

60 to 61 new system-wide restaurants, net of closures<\/p>\n

That level of capital spending reflects continued confidence in demand for the brand\u2019s daytime dining model, even as costs and consumer behavior shift across the restaurant industry.<\/p>\n

A breakfast brand built for scale<\/p>\n

First Watch has positioned itself as a daytime dining concept built around made-to-order breakfast and brunch offerings. <\/p>\n

The company rotates its menu five times a year and emphasizes a chef-driven approach and fresh ingredients.<\/p>\n

While most locations now operate outside Florida, the scale of the business places First Watch among the largest restaurant operators connected to the Tampa Bay Area.<\/p>\n

READ: Tampa Bay\u2019s Top Companies No. 2: Raymond James<\/a><\/p>\n

Restaurants are spread across 32 states, with continued expansion planned in both existing and new markets.<\/p>\n

The company also highlights community involvement. <\/p>\n

First Watch reports that it donates a portion of proceeds from every kid\u2019s meal and has raised more than $1.7 million for organizations and causes nationwide.<\/p>\n

What Tampa Bay readers should watch<\/p>\n

For Tampa Bay business leaders<\/a>, the story is less about breakfast and more about execution.<\/p>\n

First Watch is managing growth on multiple fronts at once, including opening dozens of new restaurants, improving margins at existing locations and maintaining traffic growth in a competitive dining environment.<\/p>\n

The pace of expansion brings operational challenges, from staffing and training to real estate selection and supply chain management. <\/p>\n

READ: Tampa Bay\u2019s Top Companies No. 4: Publix<\/a><\/p>\n

At the same time, improving restaurant-level margins suggests the company is gaining efficiency as it scales.<\/p>\n

With adjusted EBITDA projected at about $123.0 million for the year, First Watch continues to reinforce its position as a significant public company with roots tied to the Tampa Bay region.<\/p>\n

First Watch illustrates how a focused restaurant concept can grow into a national business while maintaining steady performance at the store level, even as expansion continues across multiple markets.<\/p>\n

Stay Informed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"First Watch Restaurant Group continues to scale as one of the most prominent restaurant companies tied to Tampa…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[24110,49603,3090,178,575,10748,7269,3450,687,3047,8633,6652,135,1703,52537,7682,137,136,7683],"class_list":["post-100310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-business-growth","tag-c-suite","tag-dining","tag-economic-growth","tag-food","tag-hospitality","tag-leadership","tag-management","tag-restaurants","tag-retail","tag-sales","tag-small-business","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-business","tag-tampa-bay-business-news-and-top-stories","tag-tampa-bay-hospitality","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-tampa-restaurants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}