Restaurant chain to serve cocktails for first time

BRADENTON — Breakfast, brunch and lunch chain First Watch will bring alcohol to its restaurants for the first time since its founding in 1983.

The chain unveiled a new menu of signature brunch cocktails that are now available at 100 of the company's more than 400 restaurants. First Watch aims to expand the new cocktail program to roughly half of its restaurants by the end of 2020, according to a press release. 

First Watch CEO and President Chris Tomasso attributes the decision to expand into the adult beverage space to the company's constant effort to identify and capitalize on long-term consumer trends and strategically evolve, a statement says. 

First Watch's new cocktail menu includes five signature cocktails and two classic cocktails: 

• Cinnamon Toast Cereal Milk — Coconut rum, cold brew coffee, coconut milk and agave nectar
• Million Dollar Bloody Mary — Gluten-free vodka, house-made bloody mary mix and a strip of First Watch's signature Million Dollar Bacon
• Morning Glory — Gluten-free vodka, fresh orange juice, lemon, turmeric, organic ginger and agave nectar
• Pomegranate Sunrise — Tequila, pomegranate juice, fresh lime and agave nectar
• Vodka Kale Tonic — Gluten-free vodka, fresh-juiced kale, Fuji apple, English cucumber and lemon
• Mimosa — 100% cold-squeezed orange juice and brut cuvée
• Sparkling — Brut cuvée

Looking forward into 2021, First Watch plans to make its new cocktail program available systemwide, wherever possible. 

"Brunch is an occasion to relax and connect with friends, and cocktails have become synonymous with that experience, so it wasn't long before our customers began asking for them," says Tomasso in a statement. "We crafted a program that delivers more than your basic brunch beverages or bottomless offerings, but really elevates the overall brand experience."

First Watch is open for breakfast, brunch and lunch seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. There are more than 400 First Watch restaurants in 29 states. The restaurant concept is majority owned by Advent International, one of the world's largest private equity firms. First Watch reported $525.8 million in gross revenue in 2019.