First Watch to open in High Point, bring 30 jobs
First Watch will add about 30 jobs at 274 Eastchester Drive, deepening daytime dining on High Point’s busy retail corridor as local restaurant sales topped $355.3 million.
First Watch will open this fall at 274 Eastchester Drive in High Point, adding about 30 jobs and another breakfast-and-lunch option to one of the city’s busiest commercial stretches. The restaurant will take about 5,000 square feet, with a patio, a bar, more than 170 seats and a locally inspired mural.
The opening lands in a part of High Point where daytime traffic already matters. First Watch says it plans to operate on its No Night Shifts Ever model, with a single daily shift that keeps evenings free for employees. The company also typically starts hiring about a month before opening, so the job impact should begin before the first customers sit down for avocado toast, Lemon Ricotta Pancakes or Million Dollar Bacon.
For a city of 120,571 people as of July 1, 2025, the addition fits a market that already spends heavily on eating out. High Point’s accommodation and food services sales totaled $355.3 million in 2022, a sign that breakfast, brunch and lunch concepts have room to compete alongside dinner-focused chains and independent restaurants. First Watch’s usual hours, 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., put it squarely in the daytime market rather than the evening dining crowd.
The move also adds to First Watch’s growing footprint in the region. The chain already operates in Greensboro and other North Carolina cities including Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Charlotte and Gastonia, giving it a broader presence in the Triad and beyond. In Guilford County, that means another national brand will be chasing the same workers and customers that nearby independent cafes and lunch spots depend on.
Eastchester Drive has been on High Point’s planning map for decades. The corridor plan was first adopted in 1986 and updated in 1994, and a 2025 city zoning staff report specifically evaluated developments along or adjacent to Eastchester Drive. First Watch’s arrival adds a new tenant to that retail corridor while signaling continued chain interest in a corridor built for visibility, access and steady daytime demand.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
