First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. Announces Appointment of Charles Jemley and Michael Fleisher to Board of Directors
August 22 2024 - 4:34PM
First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FWRG) (“First Watch” or
the “Company”), the leading Daytime Dining concept serving
breakfast, brunch and lunch, today announced the appointment of
Charles Jemley to its Board of Directors and as Chair of the Audit
Committee effective immediately and the appointment of Michael
Fleisher to its Board of Directors effective November 1, 2024.
“We are pleased to welcome Charley and Michael
to our Board of Directors, and we look forward to leaning on their
extensive financial management expertise as we continue to scale
the First Watch brand,” said Ralph Alvarez, Chairman of the Board
of Directors of First Watch.
Jemley’s executive and financial management
leadership experience includes over four years serving as the Chief
Financial Officer at Dutch Bros Coffee, where he remains a
strategic advisor to the CEO, as well as holding numerous
leadership positions at both Yum! Brands and Starbucks. He
currently sits on the board of directors of Four Corners Property
Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FCPT), where he chairs the Audit and Risk
Committee and is a member of the Compensation Committee.
Fleisher’s executive and financial management
leadership experience includes over nine years serving as the Chief
Financial Officer of Wayfair, Inc. Prior to joining Wayfair,
Fleisher was Vice Chairman, Strategy and Operations at Warner Music
Group from 2008 to 2011 and Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer from 2005 to 2008. He was previously the Chief
Executive Officer of Gartner, Inc. from 1999 to 2004. He currently
sits on the board of directors of Squarespace, Inc. (NYSE: SQSP),
where he chairs the Audit Committee and is a member of the
Nominating and Governance Committee, and GOAT Group.
Jemley and Fleisher join fellow Board of
Directors members Ralph Alvarez, Irene Chang Britt, Tricia Glynn,
William Kussel, Stephanie Lilak, Dave Paresky, Jostein Solheim and
Chris Tomasso. For more information on the Company’s leadership,
visit investors.firstwatch.com.
About First Watch
First Watch is an award-winning Daytime Dining
concept serving made-to-order breakfast, brunch and lunch using
fresh ingredients. A recipient of hundreds of local “Best
Breakfast” and “Best Brunch” accolades, First Watch's chef-driven
menu includes elevated executions of classic favorites along with
First Watch specialties such as the protein-packed Quinoa Power
Bowl®, Farm Stand Breakfast Tacos, Avocado Toast, Chickichanga,
Morning Meditation (juiced in-house daily), Spiked Lavender
Lemonade and its signature Million Dollar Bacon. In 2023, First
Watch was named the top restaurant brand in Yelp’s inaugural list
of the top 50 most-loved brands in the U.S. In 2023 and 2022, First
Watch was named a Top 100 Most Loved Workplace® in Newsweek by the
Best Practice Institute. In 2022, First Watch was awarded a
sought-after MenuMasters honor by Nation's Restaurant News for its
seasonal Braised Short Rib Omelet, recognized with ADP's coveted
Culture at Work Award. First Watch operates more than 535 First
Watch restaurants in 29 states. For more information, visit
www.firstwatch.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, which are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual
results to be materially different from the statements made herein.
All statements other than statements of historical fact are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements discuss our
current expectations and projections relating to our financial
position, results of operations, plans, objectives, future
performance and business. You can identify forward-looking
statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to any
historical or current facts. These statements may include words
such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,”
“forecast,” “future,” “intend,” “outlook,” “potential,” “project,”
“projection,” “plan,” “seek,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “will,”
“should,” “can,” “can have,” “likely,” the negatives thereof and
other similar expressions. You should evaluate all forward-looking
statements made in this press release in the context of the risks
and uncertainties disclosed herein, in our Annual Report on Form
10-K as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023, including
under Part I. Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and Part II. Item 7.
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations,” and our other filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), accessible on the SEC’s
website at www.sec.gov and the Investors Relations section of the
Company’s website at
https://investors.firstwatch.com/financial-information/sec-filings.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements include the
following: uncertainty regarding the Russia and Ukraine war,
Israel-Hamas war and the related impact on macroeconomic
conditions, including inflation, as a result of such conflicts or
other related events; our vulnerability to changes in economic
conditions and consumer preferences; our inability to successfully
open new restaurants or establish new markets; our inability to
effectively manage our growth; potential negative impacts on sales
at our and our franchisees’ restaurants as a result of our opening
new restaurants; a decline in visitors to any of the retail
centers, lifestyle centers, or entertainment centers where our
restaurants are located; lower than expected same-restaurant sales
growth; unsuccessful marketing programs and limited time new
offerings; changes in the cost of food; unprofitability or closure
of new restaurants or lower than previously experienced performance
in existing restaurants; our inability to compete effectively for
customers; unsuccessful financial performance of our franchisees;
our limited control over our franchisees’ operations; our inability
to maintain good relationships with our franchisees; conflicts of
interest with our franchisees; the geographic concentration of our
system-wide restaurant base in the southeast portion of the United
States; damage to our reputation and negative publicity; our
inability or failure to recognize, respond to and effectively
manage the accelerated impact of social media; our limited number
of suppliers and distributors for several of our frequently used
ingredients and shortages or disruptions in the supply or delivery
of such ingredients; information technology system failures or
breaches of our network security; our failure to comply with
federal and state laws and regulations relating to privacy, data
protection, advertising and consumer protection, or the expansion
of current or the enactment of new laws or regulations relating to
privacy, data protection, advertising and consumer protection; our
potential liability with our gift cards under the property laws of
some states; our failure to enforce and maintain our trademarks and
protect our other intellectual property; litigation with respect to
intellectual property assets; our dependence on our executive
officers and certain other key employees; our inability to
identify, hire, train and retain qualified individuals for our
workforce; our failure to obtain or to properly verify the
employment eligibility of our employees; our failure to maintain
our corporate culture as we grow; unionization activities among our
employees; employment and labor law proceedings; labor shortages or
increased labor costs or health care costs; risks associated with
leasing property subject to long-term and non-cancelable leases;
risks related to our sale of alcoholic beverages; costly and
complex compliance with federal, state and local laws; changes in
accounting principles applicable to us; our vulnerability to
natural disasters, unusual weather conditions, pandemic outbreaks,
political events, war and terrorism; our inability to secure
additional capital to support business growth; our level of
indebtedness; failure to comply with covenants under our credit
facility; and the interests of our largest stockholder may differ
from those of public stockholders.
The forward-looking statements included in this
press release are made only as of the date hereof and are expressly
qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
Investor Relations Contact
Steve L. Marotta941-500-1918
investors@firstwatch.com
Media Relations Contact
Jenni Glester407-864-5823jglester@firstwatch.com
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