Financing

First Watch’s Chris Tomasso on breakfast business growth

In this episode of RB's podcast, “A Deeper Dive,” the new CEO of the fast-growing chain talks about its keys to success.
Photograph courtesy of First Watch Restaurants

a deeper dive

One of the more underappreciated stories of the past decade has been the emergence of a new type of family-dining restaurant chain that serves only breakfast and lunch and then closes.

Leading that growth has been First Watch, which was sold to Advent International last year. This week’s edition of Restaurant Business’ podcast, “A Deeper Dive,” features an interview with Chris Tomasso, who was named CEO of the Florida-based chain earlier this year.

First Watch has quietly been one of the fastest-growing chains in the country thanks to organic growth and acquisitions. Tomasso talks about the reasons for that growth—notably its loyal customer base and strong consumer rankings.

Tomasso also talks about the popularity of concepts like First Watch, which are growing thanks to the popularity of breakfast, and despite trends favoring takeout-friendly restaurants.  

Please have a listen.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners