First Watch Ready To Open In Joliet: Here's What It Looks Like Inside At The Boulevard Place: Photos

JOLIET, IL — On June 1, Joliet Patch was on hand as Mayor Terry D'Arcy poked a sharp kitchen knife into a juicy ribeye steak to mark the grand opening of the new Longhorn Steakhouse. Next week, just a few yards away, Joliet will celebrate another milestone: the grand opening of a First Watch restaurant, also opening at The Boulevard Place.

The Boulevard Place is right off the Interstate 55 exit for Joliet and Plainfield along Route 30.

Starting next Monday, First Watch will be open seven days a week, for breakfast, brunch and lunch from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It will only close two days a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

One interesting note, there is a beautiful mural painted inside the First Watch that says "Plainfield." Actually, the city of Joliet has zoning jurisdiction and police and fire protection for the First Watch location. However, all of the Boulevard Place properties do have a Plainfield mailing address, so I guess if you tell your friends let's meet up at the new First Watch in Plainfield, you're not entirely wrong.

The Boulevard Place development involves both the city of Joliet and Plainfield and the zoning is all over the place. The Costco is in Plainfield, so is the Coopers Hawk, while the Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse and now the new First Watch are all the pride and joy of Joliet.

According to its website, "First Watch serves delicious, made-to-order Breakfast, Brunch and Lunch from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. We are closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day."

The First Watch website goes on to explain, "Since the majority of our customers are not sailors, pirates or sea-farin’ scallywags, we seem to get this question a lot. A ‘first watch’ is a nautical term that refers to the very first shift of the day. And if you ask us, it’s the best shift of the day. That’s because come the crack of dawn, we’re slicing and juicing fresh fruit and vegetables and whipping up our French toast batter from scratch, just for you."

Until the new Joliet First Watch opens, there are 10 existing locations in the Chicago area mostly in the affluent suburbs including two locations in Naperville, plus one location in the following communities: Oak Brook, Geneva, Bloomingdale Court, River Forest, Des Plaines, Orland Park, Schaumburg and Kildeer.

The address for the new Joliet location — or will you call it the Plainfield location — will be 16319 South Place Suite 103.