First Watch Plans Restaurant at Link 56

The breakfast chain has submitted plans to build a 3,500-square-foot restaurant within the 150-acre Link 56 development in Denver.

Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Openings & Closings

Photograph of a bare steel-framed commercial building shell on open prairie ground, with survey stakes in the foreground and a wide sky above distant foothills. — First Watch has submitted plans to build a 3,500-square-foot breakfast restaurant within Denver's 150-acre Link 56 development, alongside a proposed Aldi. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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First Watch plans to open a 3,500-square-foot restaurant at 5773 N. Tower Rd. within Link 56, according to plans submitted to the city by Galloway & Co. in late October. An Aldi has also been proposed for a site next to the First Watch location.

Why it matters

The filing signals continued commercial growth in the Link 56 development, which is being built out in phases with retail, housing and a large Target store. For Denver residents, the project adds dining and grocery options to the northeast corridor near Denver International Airport.

The planned restaurant occupies about 0.84 acres with 60 parking spaces within the 150-acre Link 56 site. First Watch operates more than 680 restaurants across 33 states, and its opening date at this location has not been announced.

The players

First Watch

A breakfast and brunch restaurant chain operating more than 680 locations in 33 states, including more than 10 in Colorado.

Kensington Development Partners

A real estate development firm founded in 2017 that acquired the Link 56 property with U.K.-based IM Properties.

IM Properties

A U.K.-based real estate investment firm that partnered with Kensington Development Partners to acquire the 150-acre Link 56 property.

Galloway & Co.

A firm that submitted the First Watch restaurant plans to the city on behalf of the project.

The details

Galloway & Co. submitted the First Watch plans to the city in late October. Link 56 is a 150-acre mixed-use development, and its first phase, estimated at $235 million, includes a 150,799-square-foot Target, 215 apartments and 170 townhomes.

2017: Kensington Development Partners is founded.
2025: Kensington and U.K.-based IM Properties acquire the 150-acre property.
Earlier in 2026: An Aldi is proposed for a site next to the First Watch location.
Late October 2026: Galloway & Co. submits First Watch plans to the city.

Market Landscape

Link 56 follows the mixed-use pattern in which a large anchor like Target and residential phases come first, with restaurant and grocery pads filling in afterward. The proposed Aldi next to the First Watch site suggests the development is drawing multiple national chains to the same corridor.

Denver residents in the northeast area will gain a new breakfast option and, if the Aldi proposal advances, a nearby grocery store. The added parking and retail pads also shape how drivers will access the Link 56 shopping area.

The takeaway

Watch for city approval and construction permits as a signal of when the First Watch restaurant will open. Nearby residents can track Link 56 phase updates to see how new retail is arriving.