First Watch Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $1.2M – $2.0M
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 12 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
First Watch is a daytime-only, full-service franchise serving breakfast, brunch, and lunch made from fresh ingredients. Franchisees operate restaurants open mornings through mid-afternoon, managing kitchen, service, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A First Watch franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.2M – $2.0M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $1.2M – $2.0M
- 35th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 474
- 36th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $1.2M – $2.0M including a $40K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 74/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +14 franchised outlets in the latest year (14 opened, 0 closed); 12 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 22.7% CAGR over 3 years with 474 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- First Watch Franchise Development Co.
- Parent company
- First Watch Restaurants, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2023 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2023 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and President
- Christopher A. Tomasso
- CEO experience
- 2006 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 8725 Pendery Place, Suite 201, Bradenton, Florida 34201
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $730.2M
- vs $601.2M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Christopher A. Tomasso
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 1983
- FDD year
- 2023
- States available
- 18
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 139% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2023 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2023 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $100K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $1.1M | $1.9M |
| Total initial investment | $1.2M | $2.0M |
Source: First Watch 2023 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.2M – $2.0M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $100K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $15K |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $7K – $12K |
| Total fee load | 5.5% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
First Watch makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one First Watch unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2023 FDD
Financial Performance
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.5% — below the Full-Service Restaurants median of 7.0%.
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator retention
System expanding at 22.7% CAGR over 3 years across 474 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 17% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Full-Service Restaurants medians
How First Watch Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2023 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 474
- Opened
- 14
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 366
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 23%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 16.7%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +22.7%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +22.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Signed, not yet open
- 12
- 0.03 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 16
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 18 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
97 current owners across 18 states.
- NC 26
- TX 16
- KY 10
- TN 8
- NE 6
- SC 5
- FL 4
- VA 4
- WI 4
- AR 3
- MO 3
- GA 2
- +6 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 12
- Loan volume
- $9.9M
- Median loan
- $980K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 12 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 12 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 12 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 6.8%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 13.2%
- n=4,117 loans
- Jobs supported
- 156
- 4.2 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 25%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 75% went to startups / new businesses, 25% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in full-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 13.2% vs 9.7% for independents — franchising is associated with 36% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing First Watch franchisees
Showing 3 of 6 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for First Watch from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 75%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.75%
- Lender concentration
- 25.0%
- Job velocity
- 4.2 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 7.4%
- NAICS 722511
- Jobs supported
- 156
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 25% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pinnacle Bank | 1 | $960K | 0.0% |
| 2 | Centerstone SBA Lending, Inc. | 1 | $775K | 0.0% |
| 3 | Florida Capital Bank, National Association | 1 | $1.0M | 0.0% |
| 4 | Meridian Bank | 1 | $1.0M | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLFlorida | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| GAGeorgia | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| SCSouth Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
First Watch presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to high capital requirements, undisclosed profitability metrics, and lack of financial performance data (Item 19), making ROI validation impossible before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21: First Watch Franchise Development Co. does not prepare stand-alone financial statements; figures are the audited consolidated statements of its ultimate parent/guarantor First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (FWRG) for FY ended Dec 25, 2022 (yr1) and Dec 26, 2021 (yr2). Total revenues = restaurant sales ($719,181K) + franchise revenues ($10,981K, shown as other_revenue). Audited by PwC (Tampa, FL; auditor since 1999). All amounts in thousands of USD.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 74 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — cannot verify if $1.2M-$2M investment generates positive ROI
- 02MINORHigh initial investment ($1.2M-$2M) with 4% royalty requires substantial sales to break even; no average unit volume provided
- 03MINOR14.9% YoY unit growth is solid but system size (474 units) is relatively small; vulnerability to localized economic downturns
- 04MINORFranchise fee ($40K) low relative to total investment, suggesting high operating costs and thin margins
- 05MINORNo going concern disclaimer listed, but lack of financial transparency raises questions about franchisor stability and franchisee profitability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2023 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | AAA office closest to Bradenton, Florida |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 75 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 400 hrs
- Training location
- Certified Training Restaurant (throughout U.S.) and corporate headquarters
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 14 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Aloha POS / Restaurant Magic Data Central
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha POS / Restaurant Magic Data Central
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
97 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a First Watch franchise?
The total investment to open a First Watch franchise ranges from $1.2M – $2.0M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do First Watch franchise owners earn?
First Watch makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns First Watch?
First Watch is franchised by First Watch Franchise Development Co.. Its parent company is First Watch Restaurants, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2023 filing.
What is Item 19 in the First Watch FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the First Watch FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is First Watch's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for First Watch (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many First Watch franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, First Watch has 474 total units in the United States, including 108 franchised units and 366 company-owned units. 14 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is First Watch a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates First Watch as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 74 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.