Noodles & CompanyFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Noodles & Company franchise requires a total initial investment of $669K – $1.4M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $669K – $1.4M
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 14th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 463
- 47th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $669K – $1.4M including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.2M), with an estimated 14% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 30/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Noodles & Company
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Drew Madsen
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 520 Zang Street, Suite D, Broomfield, CO 80021
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $493.3M
- vs $503.4M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual noodle and pasta restaurants featuring made-to-order Asian noodle dishes, salads, and comfort foods. Day-to-day responsibilities include managing 25-40 employees, maintaining food quality and consistency, executing marketing campaigns, managing inventory/costs, and driving customer traffic in a competitive QSR segment.
- CEO
- Drew Madsen
- Headquarters
- CO
- Founded
- 2002
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 20
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $0 | $56K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $634K | $1.3M |
| Total initial investment | $669K | $1.4M |
Source: Noodles & Company 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$167K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
16%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $669K – $1.4M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $56K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 7.3 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $4K |
| Renewal fee | $18K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
- Avg ebitda
- $142K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 13.7%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- net_sales
- Sample size
- 470 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $462K→$2.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Noodles & Company Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 463
- Opened
- 14
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 22
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.8%
- Company-owned
- 371
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 20%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -2.2%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -1.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Continuity rate
- 98.9%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 1.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 22 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 6 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 6
- Loan volume
- $3.9M
- Median loan
- $623K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Noodles & Company's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 2 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 2 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 5-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Slow-growth franchise with concerning compliance history, thin margins, and lack of transparent financial disclosure creates meaningful execution and profitability risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
State of Delaware v. Noodles & Company (Card Compliant, LLC, et al.) - settled August 2018 for $450,000 to State of Delaware and $150,000 to relator William French. Allegations of violating Delaware Abandoned Property Law and False Claims and Reporting Act regarding unclaimed gift card funds. No admission of liability or wrongdoing.
Largest disclosed settlement: $600,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 30 / 100 rating
- 01MEDMinimal unit growth (2.2% YoY) suggests mature/saturated system with limited expansion momentum
- 02HIGHLitigation history (2018 gift card fund settlement of $600k) indicates compliance and operational oversight issues
- 03MEDNet income of $142,343 on $1.29M revenue (11% net margin) is thin for QSR, leaving limited cushion for economic downturns or underperformance
- 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($669k-$1.41M) requires long payback period given modest profitability
- 05MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representation) disclosed, making it difficult to validate actual franchisee earning potential
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Colorado |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
State of Delaware v. Noodles & Company (Card Compliant, LLC, et al.) - settled August 2018 for $450,000 to State of Delaware and $150,000 to relator William French. Allegations of violating Delaware Abandoned Property Law and False Claims and Reporting Act regarding unclaimed gift card funds. No admission of liability or wrongdoing.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 485 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- POS system
- Aloha Quick Service
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha Quick Service
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
24 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Noodles & Company · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Noodles & Company franchise?
The total investment to open a Noodles & Company franchise ranges from $669K – $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Noodles & Company franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Noodles & Company FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. The median is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Noodles & Company's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Noodles & Company (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Noodles & Company franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Noodles & Company has 463 total units in the United States, including 92 franchised units and 371 company-owned units. 14 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Noodles & Company a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Noodles & Company as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 30 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.