First Watch trades from 665 restaurants across 33 states, and every one of them closes by mid-afternoon. Breakfast, brunch and lunch fill the whole clock, with a seasonal menu that changes roughly every quarter. A.J. “Truett” Miller and Ken Pendery opened the first location in San Diego, California, in 1983, and the daytime-only format still defines the chain today.
First Watch’s history, the company built around it, and the shape of the estate today fill the section below.
First Watch History
A.J. “Truett” Miller and Ken Pendery opened the first First Watch on a corner in San Diego, California, in 1983. Their idea centered on one daypart only, covering breakfast, brunch and lunch, with the doors shutting well before dinner. Eggs anchored that early menu, next to fresh-squeezed juice from an in-house juice bar. A scratch kitchen replaced the steam table. Daytime-only hours became the chain’s defining trait as it grew, well before “America’s Favorite Daytime Cafe” turned into its printed tagline.
Expansion carried the concept across the Sun Belt through the 1990s and 2000s. Some markets kept the name The Egg & I instead, held over from an earlier franchise deal. Menus began rotating on a seasonal, chef-driven schedule rather than staying fixed year-round, a habit the chain still keeps every autumn. Advent International bought a majority stake in First Watch in 2017, funding faster remodels and new store openings. Headquarters sit near Bradenton, Florida.
First Watch Restaurant Group went public on Nasdaq in 2021, trading today under the ticker FWRG, after decades as a private company. Chris Tomasso leads the company today. Growth under his watch pushed the chain well past its Sun Belt roots into the Midwest and Northeast. It now trades from 665 restaurants across 33 states, split between 586 company-owned locations and 79 franchise-owned ones. Every kitchen still keeps the daytime-only hours Miller and Pendery opened in San Diego.
First Watch Menus & Details
Four pages carry the detail below, and each one puts an item name beside its own figures or facts.
First Watch Menu Prices
The full board carries a calorie count and a dollar figure beside every item, sorted into the same sections used inside the restaurant. The First Watch Menu Prices page covers every section from egg dishes to the juice bar.
First Watch Secret Menu
Off-menu builds start from items already on the printed board, reshaped with a swap or an add-on named at the counter. Current builds sit on the First Watch Secret Menu.
First Watch Allergen Menu
Milk, soy, wheat and egg get marked against each dish on the printed guide, section by section. The First Watch Allergen Menu carries the full item-by-item breakdown.
First Watch Fall Menu
Pumpkin-driven dishes and a seasonal juice return each autumn alongside the year-round board. Current picks sit on the First Watch Fall Menu.