First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc., the Florida-based leading Daytime Dining concept with more than 445 restaurants nationwide, today provided an update on its Company-owned restaurants in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, which made landfall during the first week of the Company’s fourth fiscal quarter.
Due to the hurricane, 85 of First Watch’s Company-owned restaurants closed for at least one business day. As of Monday, October 3, all but 10 of those restaurants have reopened. The remaining unopened restaurants are located primarily in the Ft. Myers and Naples markets where damage assessments and restoration of utilities are pending. While First Watch is still assessing the full impact of Hurricane Ian, management has determined the whereabouts of the Company’s employees and believes fewer than 5 of its restaurants sustained any significant physical damage.
The Company maintains insurance coverage of all its Company-owned restaurants including property, flood and business interruption. Management is working with its insurance providers to assess the overall impact from the storm and expects the assessment to take several weeks to determine the extent, if any, to which the coverages apply.
“First and foremost, I am relieved that our employees are accounted for. I am proud of our First Watch teams who have worked tirelessly to rapidly ensure the wellbeing of these impacted employees while safely stocking, staffing and reopening restaurants so that our community can once again begin to enjoy a sense of normalcy and comfort,” says Chris Tomasso, Chief Executive Officer and President.
