Bottom line
- Total investment $1.2M – $2.0M including a $40K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 49/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 14 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 22.7% CAGR over 3 years with 474 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one First Watch unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
8%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
First Watch is a fast-casual breakfast, brunch, and lunch restaurant chain. Franchisees operate full-service locations, managing food preparation, customer service, inventory, staffing, and marketing within a protected territory while paying 4% royalties on gross sales.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
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.
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 rating
- 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
- 05HIGHNo 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
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
First Watch · FDD (2023) PDF