The American restaurant chain, First Watch announced the opening of about 12 new restaurants this year due to an increase in traffic to its locations, which encouraged the owners to expand to other states.

So far, the chain has about 580 restaurants in at least 31 states in the country. “Our restaurant traffic results for the same period in the first quarter are encouraging and maintained the trends we experienced at the end of 2024, demonstrating the strength and resilience of the First Watch brand,” said Chris Tomasso, president and CEO of First Watch.

During the first few months of the year, the company opened 13 new locations in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

According to Tomasso, despite the adversities the sector is going through, the locations that have opened between 2024 and 2025 are meeting expectations. He also mentioned that in Boston, for example; “This is an important milestone in our continued growth in New England and beyond,” he said.

“We appreciate the warm welcome we received at our first location in Massachusetts earlier this year and look forward to bringing First Watch’s innovative menu and signature hospitality to the Back Bay,” he said.

Finally, by the second half of the year, these are the states where First Watch plans to open more locations: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin.