Why First Watch is Most Loved

First Watch is a daytime dining restaurant concept founded in 1983 and headquartered in Bradenton, Florida. The company operates hundreds of locations across the United States, specializing in made-to-order breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Its operations focus on a daytime-only schedule alongside internal career advancement and community-centered hospitality.

Positive Vision: The company operates on a daytime-only schedule while actively targeting sixty percent of leadership roles to be filled through internal advancement.
Alignment of Values: Operations are anchored in a philosophy that emphasizes putting others first, teamwork, and genuine kindness.
CEO Strengths: Chief Executive Christopher Tomasso fosters an inclusive environment through direct market visits, listening tours, and personal employee recognition.
Company Respect: Frontline team members share direct operational and workplace feedback through the annual We Hear You engagement tour.
Loved Culture: Teams build strong community connections through internal volunteer initiatives, personal celebrations, and local charity partnerships.
Benefits: Comprehensive offerings provide backup childcare and eldercare, no-cost telehealth, and hardship grants via the emergency assistance fund.

In employees' words

“It’s a fun and uplifting environment, the people are kind and welcoming and everyone works as a team.”
— Verified employee

“How much they want you to succeed Lots of coaching opportunities Strong values.”
— Verified employee

Open roles at First Watch

Explore current openings on First Watch's careers page.

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Best Practice Institute

Best Practice Institute is the research organization behind Most Loved Workplace® certification, the SPARK Model, the Love of Workplace Index®, and The Workplace Report.

The Workplace Report

The Workplace Report is BPI's original workplace culture research and editorial briefing series for CEOs, CHROs, people leaders, talent leaders, and employer-brand teams. It turns BPI's 25 years of research, Most Loved Workplace® certification data, SPARK findings, and current workforce signals into practical analysis leaders can use.

The report format includes executive summaries, research-backed articles, company examples, methodology notes, and practical implications for retention, hiring, culture, leadership, and employee experience. New research and analysis is published on an ongoing editorial cadence at /workplace-report.