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First Watch has made several notable strides recently in the food allergy and safety space, including developing its quality assurance manager as an AllerTrain Master Trainer and certifying its senior operations leadership team. The restaurant company developed custom food allergy training materials for back-of-house staff to increase awareness and implemented an American National Standards Institute-accredited FoodHandler training program to all frontline employees. In addition to extensive training initiatives, First Watch updated its website with an online interactive nutrition calculator and allergen list by menu item, after partnering with MenuTrinfo to update its nutritional analysis to ensure FDA menu labeling regulatory compliance and help the customer make informed, safe decisions. First Watch also recently updated and improved its in-house allergen workflow process for special dietary requests and is in the process of launching a new online food allergy video through its virtual learning academy to increase knowledge among staff and management in all its restaurants.

“We are honored to be selected for this award. It is a true testament to the dedication of the entire First Watch team and our constant efforts to achieve our mission of doing whatever it takes to put our customers first,” said John Zimmermann, vice president of quality assurance and food safety. “We are committed to industry leadership, striving for continuous improvement to ensure a safe dining experience for our customers managing food allergies and all those who choose to dine with us.”

“It is a privilege and honor to recognize great leaders in the food service industry for food allergies for the third year in a row. These people and places totally get how important it is to flip the script on food allergies and remove the fear factor. We were able to narrow down this years’ winners from over 80 nominations and are proud to honor the best of the best! Congratulations to all the 2019 winners,” said Betsy Craig, CEO of AllerTrain by MenuTrinfo.

First Watch’s carefully curated menu takes an elevated approach to traditional and innovative offerings made to order using farm fresh ingredients. It includes crave-able items such as Avocado Toast, Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict, Farm Stand Breakfast Tacos and Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. The restaurants offer healthy, flavorful favorites like house-made granola and pico de gallo, organic greens, house-roasted vegetables and cage-free eggs as well as more indulgent, traditional breakfast, brunch and lunch offerings.

First Watch serves its entire menu seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. The restaurant also offers customers complimentary newspapers and free Wi-Fi Internet access.

About First Watch
First Watch specializes in award-winning, made-to-order Breakfast, Brunch and Lunch. A recipient of more than 200 “Best Breakfast” and “Best Brunch” accolades, First Watch offers traditional favorites, such as omelets, pancakes, sandwiches and salads, and unique specialty items like Quinoa Power Bowls, Avocado Toast and the Chickichanga. First Watch was recognized as one of TripAdvisor’s Best Restaurant Chains for 2019, one of Business Intelligence Group’s Best Places to Work in 2018 and as one of Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2017 Second 100 restaurant brands. First Watch is the largest and fastest-growing daytime-only restaurant concept in the United States with more than 375 restaurants in 32 states, including more than 320 First Watch restaurants and 50 The Egg & I restaurants and one Sun & Fork restaurant. For more information, follow First Watch on Twitter, like it on Facebook and visit www.FirstWatch.com.

About AllerTrain by MenuTrinfo
AllerTrain offers the only ANSI accredited food allergy and gluten-free training courses for the foodservice industry and provides nutritional counseling and policy development. The courses have been approved to provide allergen training the states of Michigan, Illinois and Montgomery County, MD. AllerTrain teaches foodservice professionals about the top foods causing food allergies, proper protocol for preparing food to avoid cross-contact and how to better serve diners with special dietary needs. Visit www.AllerTrain.com for more information.

Media Contact:
Eleni Pierce
941-907-9800 ext. 218
Public Relations & Communications Manager
First Watch Restaurants, Inc.