May 26, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
First Watch, a restaurant that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, will open June 15 in Bethlehem Township.
The restaurant will be open 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., according to the First Watch website. The opening date was posted on social media.
I’d never heard of the chain before its planned opening at the old Ruby Tuesday, 2102 Emerick Blvd., but Bradenton, Florida-based First Watch is a traded company. Its shares are on the NASDAQ under ticker symbol FWRG and were trading at $11.38 at 10:47 a.m. today. The company’s market capitalization is about $700 million.
First Watch restaurants are company-owned, not franchises, and the company pays no dividend “as we plan to retain our earnings to help finance our continued growth,” according to the chain’s website.
First Watch lost 4 cents per share in the first quarter, on revenue of $331 million, up 17% from the year-ago quarter. The company operates about 630 restaurants in 32 states.
The Bethlehem Township location marks First Watch’s first move into the Lehigh Valley. The chain has restaurants in the Philadelphia area. The closest one is in Doylestown, Bucks County.
On the Doylestown menu, avocado toast with two eggs costs $13.49; a traditional breakfast with eggs, meat, potatoes and toast also costs $13.49. Lemon ricotta pancakes cost $13.29, and a Belgian waffle costs $11.29.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 