A Florida-based daytime-dining chain known for fresh juices and made-to-order meals is staking a claim northeast of San Antonio. First Watch is set to open at Schertz Station, the sprawling 72-acre mixed-use development taking shape at the intersection of IH-35 and Cibolo Valley Drive, with construction on the new location slated to begin in January.
The move was reported by bizjournals.com, which reported that the Florida-based chain will join the development northeast of San Antonio and that construction is set to begin in January. The site itself, as reported by CultureMap San Antonio, is being built at I-35 and Cibolo Valley Drive and will eventually house a mix of national restaurant, retail and entertainment tenants.
Schertz Station is shaping up to be one of the region's more ambitious retail bets. Per Community Impact, the development is a 257,000-square-foot retail and dining hub backed by San Antonio-based Merit CRE, which is investing more than $65 million into the project. Panera Bread opened as the development's first tenant in October 2025, according to the same report.
A Growing Lineup Of National Names
First Watch will not be alone in chasing San Antonio's appetite for daytime dining. The development's roster already includes Portillo's, and Handel's Homemade Ice Cream is slated to open its second area location at Schertz Station as well, the CultureMap report notes. Merit leasing documents cited in that same article also show Jersey Mike's Subs, Panera Bread and Smoothie King joining the strip. Merit CRE's own project page lists Home Depot, EVO Entertainment, Portillo's, Hopdoddy, CAVA and Panera among the development's tenants and businesses.
The pace of signings reflects how fast the daytime-dining category itself is expanding nationally. First Watch, which describes itself as the leading daytime-dining concept serving made-to-order breakfast, brunch and lunch, reported $1.2 billion in total revenue for fiscal 2025, up 20.3% from the year before, according to a company release from First Watch Restaurant Group. The chain ended 2025 with 633 system-wide restaurants across 32 states.
Why Schertz Fits First Watch's Expansion Math
Schertz Station's growth lines up with a broader national push. First Watch opened 64 system-wide restaurants across 23 states in 2025 and is projecting 59 to 63 new system-wide restaurants in 2026, including three company-owned closures, per the same investor release. The chain is also forecasting same-restaurant sales growth of 1% to 3% for 2026 and says it sees a long-term opportunity to operate more than 2,200 restaurants across the country.
The company's growth strategy has leaned on efficiency as much as ambition. As restaurantdive.com reported, First Watch has pursued second-generation real estate in some markets because those locations can take about three fewer months to build out than ground-up developments. The chain also entered Idaho earlier in 2025 and Nevada in September, when it opened a restaurant in Las Vegas, according to the outlet.
San Antonio's Brunch Wars Are Heating Up
First Watch's arrival adds another combatant to an already crowded daytime-dining battlefield in the San Antonio area. Keke's Breakfast Cafe, which Denny's acquired in 2022 for a reported $82.5 million, recently signed a six-unit franchising deal to bring its concept to the Alamo City, according to CultureMap San Antonio. That same report notes Keke's will be competing against a slew of buzzy chains already entering the market, including The Toasted Yolk and Another Broken Egg Cafe.
Whether First Watch can hold its ground against that wave of newcomers while anchoring a still-developing retail hub remains to be seen. For now, the January construction start stands as the only confirmed timeline milestone, with the broader buildout of Schertz Station continuing to take shape around it.
