Bradenton-based First Watch Restaurant Group growing, seeks to take company public
Bradenton-based First Watch Restaurant Group has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to take the company public.
First Watch, one of the nation’s fastest-growing daytime restaurant chains, had 423 restaurants as of June 27, compared with 277 in fiscal year 2015. The company does business in 28 states.
The Form S-1 Registration Statement, filed under the Securities Act of 1933, is the first step in seeking approval to sell company stock.
Ken Pendery founded the company in Pacific Grove, California, in 1983, and moved company headquarters to Bradenton in 1986.
Christopher A. Tomasso has served as president of the company since 2015 and as chief executive officer since 2018.
“While we are proud of our success in having grown sales and restaurant level operating profit consistently for many years prior to the pandemic, our focus is on the future. We believe our continued growth will come from opening new restaurants in existing and new geographies and driving traffic and building sales at our existing restaurants as new customers discover First Watch and regulars come and enjoy us more frequently,” First Watch said in its SEC filing.
“While 2020 was a challenging year given the COVID-19 pandemic, the investment in our employees and operational capabilities have enabled us to emerge as an even stronger company with greater abilities to leverage multiple channels for growth. We are even more confident in our growth strategies based on the consumer reaction to our brand and strong resurgence we have seen throughout 2021 since reopening our restaurants and since capacity restrictions have been reduced,” the company said in its filing.
First Watch has 99 restaurants in Florida, including three in Manatee County. Those restaurants are located at 8306 Market Street, Lakewood Ranch, 4324 53rd Ave. E., Bradenton, and 7118 Cortez Road W., Bradenton.
In July, the company celebrated its move into a new 39,000-square-foot corporate headquarters at 8725 Pendery Place with an egg-cracking ceremony.
“We are really proud to be based here,” Tomasso said at the ceremony, adding that the company now has 8,500 employees across the country, and many of them come to Bradenton for training.
In a sit-down interview with the Herald in 2019, Tomasso was bullish on First Watch’s growth and being based in Bradenton.
“We love being based in Bradenton. We get to tell people that we live where people vacation. Now that we have restaurants in 31 states, we see the weather that people are dealing with, especially this time of year, and it makes us appreciate more where we are from a weather standpoint. This whole Southwest Florida community is a very tight-knit kind of a big small town. So it’s great that we are being able to be based here. It helps us when we are attracting talent to come join us at out home office. It’s a great place for us. We have been here so many years that it truly is home.” he said.
For more information about the company, visit https://www.firstwatch.com/.
For more information about the SEC filing, visit the SEC web page.
This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 9:22 AM.
