This new restaurant opening where Denny’s closed could be a real grand slam for Meridian
For decades, America has feasted on the Denny’s Grand Slam, a blue-collar breakfast standard of pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage.
Ready for some bougie Avocado Toast or Farm Stand Breakfast Tacos instead, Meridian?
Let’s go out on an assumptive culinary limb. Compared to its predecessor, a new restaurant set to open in spring 2025 where Denny’s closed seems poised to knock it out of the breakfast park.
First Watch has leased the vacant 4,280-square-foot building at 3155 E. Fairview Avenue, just west of Eagle Road. That Denny’s store closed earlier this year, along with many other select locations locally and nationally.
This will be the first Idaho presence for the Florida-based brand, which operates 535 restaurants in 29 states — and counting.
Yes, First Watch is a chain. And, yes, it might be a tad spendier than the Denny’s value menu. (But certainly not expensive. Based on other First Watch locations’ menus, it looks like Idahoans might expect to drop around $12 to $14 for many entrees.)
But Boise-area diners seeking a new breakfast or lunch option will want to put First Watch on their radar. When Yelp released a list of the “top 50 most loved brands in the U.S.” in 2023, First Watch was the top restaurant finisher — and No. 4 overall on the list.
Using fresh ingredients in a kitchen void of heat lamps, microwaves and fryers, First Watch serves made-to-order food from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, according to a media fact sheet.
“A recipient of hundreds of local ‘Best Breakfast’ and ‘Best Brunch’ accolades,” the chain says, “First Watch’s chef-driven menu rotates five times a year and includes elevated executions of classic favorites alongside specialties such as its Quinoa Power Bowl, Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Chickichanga, Morning Meditation fresh juice and signature Million Dollar Bacon.”
When First Watch rolls out the red carpet, it’s expected to create about 30 new jobs locally, according to the chain’s media relations contact.
Also pretty sweet? (Much like the Cinnamon Chip Pancake?)
Unlike Denny’s — no night shifts.
