First Watch Restaurant Group’s Chief Financial Officer Mel Hope will retire later this year, the chain announced Tuesday. The brand has begun a search for a successor encompassing both internal and external candidates, and Hope will remain as CFO until his replacement is named, at which point he will shift to an advisory role.
Hope joined the company as CFO in 2018 after a 10-year stint as Popeyes CFO. His tenure at First Watch coincided with the brand’s growth into a major player in the casual dining sector and the breakfast daypart. In 2018, First Watch had 351 restaurants, according to its S-1 filing, and $558 million in systemwide sales in 2019, the earliest year for which the S-1 filing contains data. It currently has 633 locations and saw $1.4 billion in systemwide sales in 2025, per its 10-K.
Hope led the brand through the preparation for its IPO in 2021, following the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, which devastated the casual dining sector. The brand’s emergence from the pandemic and its shift toward a company-owned development model helped position it for significant store and sales growth.
But there are warning signs the price sensitivity and consumer pullback that have afflicted so many restaurant brands could be coming for First Watch. According to the brand’s earnings release, First Watch posted same-restaurant sales growth of 3.1% but negative 1.9% traffic growth in Q4. That decrease in transactions is worrying at a moment when other casual chains, like Chili’s, are outpacing QSRs and fast casuals.
Chris Tomasso, the chain’s CEO, said First Watch was prepared for a new era under different financial leadership.
“[Hope] has positioned us well for this next phase — complete with a strong financial leadership team in place and his commitment to work with us through his successor’s transition,” Tomasso said.
