Clarksville got its first taste of First Watch on Sunday, as the breakfast-and-brunch chain opened its doors at 3083 Wilma Rudolph Boulevard, just off I-24's Exit 4, in a building that spent years serving up Shoney's classics before getting a major makeover. Big crowds showed up for the debut, eager to try a concept that's been building buzz in the Clarksville area for months.
According to Main Street Media of Tennessee, the new restaurant is the product of a $1.4 million renovation of the former Shoney's space, a figure attributed to the City of Clarksville Building & Codes Department. The permit itself showed that valuation on a 5,050-square-foot building, the outlet reported in earlier coverage of the project. City Building & Codes director Justin Crosby had said the permit for the project was pulled back in May, setting the renovation timeline in motion months before Sunday's grand opening.
Construction on the site was visible to passersby well before the doors opened. Clarksville Now documented the work in progress back in August, describing First Watch as a chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch. A photo from that report, taken Aug. 13, showed the site mid-transformation as it prepared to shed its Shoney's identity for good.
What's on the Menu
First Watch describes its menu as featuring “elevated classics & seasonal specialties,” and the Clarksville location is stocked accordingly. Diners can expect enhanced egg sandwiches, A.M. superfoods bowls, skillet hash, steak and eggs meals, and crispy frittatas, along with cocktails, coffee and hot cocoa to round out the offerings. The chain is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., according to the First Watch website, and offers pickup, delivery and dine-in service.
Part of a Bigger Growth Push
The Clarksville opening is one small piece of a much larger expansion story for First Watch, which now operates more than 660 restaurants nationwide, per the company's own website. The chain's growth has been steady in recent years, with Main Street Media's earlier reporting noting that First Watch has opened dozens of restaurants annually, including Tennessee locations in Nashville, Hermitage, Antioch, Brentwood, Franklin and Hendersonville.
That pace shows up in the numbers, too. First Watch Restaurant Group's investor relations announcement for the second quarter of 2026 reported 18 new system-wide restaurants across 15 states, bringing the company's total to 665 locations. The same release reported total revenues of $354.7 million for the quarter, up 15.2% from $307.9 million during the same period in 2025, along with same-restaurant sales growth of 3.4%.
For Clarksville residents, the arrival means one more option along the busy Wilma Rudolph Boulevard corridor near Exit 4, in a spot long associated with Shoney's before the building's transformation this year. Whether the opening-day energy carries into steady weekday business remains to be seen, but the first Sunday crowd suggests plenty of local curiosity about the newcomer.
