---
title: "First Watch chef on how chain is elevating breakfast and brunch for millions of Americans"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/f0cead42-99e1-45b7-a7d7-0318c723b06c
source: "Nation's Restaurant News"
original_url: https://www.nrn.com/menumasters-spotlight/first-watch-chef-on-how-chain-is-elevating-breakfast-and-brunch-for-millions-of-americans
author: "Sam Oches"
category: "Bakery & breakfast"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Bakery & breakfast"
published: 2026-11-13T19:37:15.000Z
modified: 2026-11-14T00:03:15.054Z
image: https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/bltea7aee2fca050a19/blt925a1fc255905da8/6af769f2745e2ebea4277a6e/MM_spotlight_First_Watch_thumb.png?disable=upscale&width=1200&height=630&fit=crop
---

# First Watch chef on how chain is elevating breakfast and brunch for millions of Americans

**TL;DR:** First Watch, a daytime cafe concept, has become a billion‑dollar behemoth influencing how millions of Americans eat breakfast and brunch. Shane Schaibly, senior vice president of culinary strategy for First Watch, discusses how the brand has scaled its R&D process and won MenuMasters Awards.

*By Sam Oches, originally published in Nation's Restaurant News on 2026-11-13. [Read the original](https://www.nrn.com/menumasters-spotlight/first-watch-chef-on-how-chain-is-elevating-breakfast-and-brunch-for-millions-of-americans).*

## Story

Some people work in restaurants to make money; others work in restaurants because they believe they were put on the earth to do just that. Shane Schaibly is among the second group and has cooked in restaurants since he was a teenager.

These days, Schaibly is senior vice president of culinary strategy for First Watch, the daytime cafe concept that has become a billion-dollar behemoth influencing how millions of Americans eat breakfast and brunch. In his tenure, First Watch has won two MenuMasters Awards, including Best Healthful Menu Innovation in 2014 and Best Menu Line Extension in 2022.

In this episode of the MenuMasters Spotlight podcast series, from Nation’s Restaurant News and sponsor Ventura Foods, Schaibly joins NRN editor in chief Sam Oches to talk about what it’s like to innovate within the breakfast daypart, how he’s scaled his R&D process as First Watch has exploded in popularity, and where he turns for creative inspiration.

## Entities

- Restaurants (sector)
- First Watch (company)
- Sam Oches (person)
- breakfast innovation (topic)
- cafe concept (topic)
- menu awards (topic)
- r&d scaling (topic)
- chef interview (topic)

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Originally reported by Sam Oches, Nation's Restaurant News (https://www.nrn.com/menumasters-spotlight/first-watch-chef-on-how-chain-is-elevating-breakfast-and-brunch-for-millions-of-americans). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/f0cead42-99e1-45b7-a7d7-0318c723b06c).