First Watch Brunch Chain Replacing Tuscaloosa's Red Lobster

A First Watch is coming to Tuscaloosa, filling the McFarland Boulevard building that has sat empty since Red Lobster closed two years ago.

District 7 Councilman Cassius Lanier confirmed the brunch chain is taking the former Red Lobster at 2620 McFarland Boulevard East in McFarland Plaza.

In a Thursday morning call with the Thread, Lanier said replacing major businesses that close in his district is a top priority.

"As I always say in District 7, here we grow again," Lanier told the Thread. "We want to be a major economic corridor, and when a place like Red Lobster gets shuttered it's really important to me to see something come and take its place. New-to-market businesses are important, too, and I'm just really excited to bring the First Watch brand to Tuscaloosa.

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First Watch calls itself "The Daytime Cafe," serving breakfast, brunch and lunch and closing in the afternoon. Most locations run 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the menu rotates seasonally alongside staples like the Godfather Bowl and Million Dollar Bacon.

The chain started in 1983 in California and moved its headquarters to Florida in 1986 and now runs more than 600 restaurants in over 30 states.

The Red Lobster closed in July 2024 after the seafood chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection that May. Crews emptied the Tuscaloosa building over a single morning, and a sign went up on the door matching the ones posted at locations that had closed weeks earlier.

Buzz around the location resumed this week as the demolition of the old Red Lobster got underway in earnest, and Lanier said the developers already have permits to build the First Watch on the site and should move very quickly.

For more exclusive coverage of restaurant and retail news in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.