First Watch, a Bradenton, Fla.-based chain restaurant, continued its expansion into the Washington region with the opening of two area locations this week.
The restaurant, which serves only breakfast and lunch, opened in Pikesville, Md., on Tuesday and in Herndon on Monday. First Watch opened its first Washington-area location in Fairfax in August. The chain has plans to open about 15 to 25 new restaurants in the U.S. in 2007 and about 10 in the Washington-Baltimore market in the next few years.
“First Watch is in an aggressive stage of growth right now, and looking at markets that fit our criteria and markets we wanted to go into, the Washington-Baltimore market hit on a number of those,” said Chris Tomasso, chief marketing officer for First Watch.
The restaurant, in business since 1983, currently owns nearly 70 locations in 10 states. It looks for locations that have a mix of potential customers from nearby residences and offices.
While the current Washington area locations are far from downtown D.C., Tomasso said the company is looking at options closer in.
The Connecticut-based private equity firm Catterton Partners acquired a major stake in the First Watch brand in 2004 for $34 million, and since then the chain has been expanding across the country. The chain expects to bring in between $75 and $80 million in revenue in 2006.
