Noodles & Company Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $669K – $1.4M
- Disclosed sales
- $1.3M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (6)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Noodles & Company is a fast-casual franchise serving made-to-order noodle and pasta dishes from around the world, plus salads and soups. Franchisees run restaurants managing food prep, staffing, and dine-in and takeout service.
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]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $669K – $1.4M
- 85th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Net sales24th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 463
- 88th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $669K – $1.4M including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.2M), with an estimated 8% cash-on-cash return (based on Restaurant EBITDA (7) $142,343 / 10.9%).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 63/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +2 franchised outlets in the latest year (14 opened, 22 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- 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
- CEO
- Drew Madsen
- Headquarters
- CO
- Founded
- 1995
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 20
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 114% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $669K – $1.4M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $56K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 13.3 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of net sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Training fee | $21K |
| Transfer fee | $4K |
| Renewal fee | $18K |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $10K |
| 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.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 29% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Noodles & Company until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$1.1M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
FDD-reported earnings
The FDD reports $142K as Restaurant EBITDA (7) $142,343 / 10.9%. This is a disclosed figure, not our estimate — we publish no modelled profit for Noodles & Company.
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Noodles & Company unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
- Avg restaurant ebitda (7) $142,343 / 10.9%
- $142K
- Reported as Restaurant EBITDA (7) $142,343 / 10.9% in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 7.5%
- Based on Restaurant EBITDA (7) $142,343 / 10.9% / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- net sales
- Sample size
- 90 outlets
- vs category median 19 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $605K→$2.2MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 85 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 9 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.3M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.2x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 9/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (-1.1% 3-year CAGR) with 463 units.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Noodles & Company Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
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
- 7.6%
- Company-owned
- 371
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 20%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -1.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -1.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- 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 · 6 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
6 current owners across 6 states.
- CA 1
- CO 1
- FL 1
- MO 1
- WA 1
- WI 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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
- Under 10 loans (6)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 6 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (6)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (6)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
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)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
One settled case: State of Delaware, William French v. Card Compliant LLC et al. (Del. Super. Ct. 2013-2018); Noodles & Company paid $450,000 to State of Delaware and $150,000 to relator; dismissed with mutual releases
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
FY2024 (ended Dec 31, 2024) consolidated total revenue $493,271K = restaurant revenue $483,097K + franchising royalties, fees and other $10,174K. Audited by Ernst & Young LLP.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 verdict
- 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
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 90 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Broomfield, CO |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | CO |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One settled case: State of Delaware, William French v. Card Compliant LLC et al. (Del. Super. Ct. 2013-2018); Noodles & Company paid $450,000 to State of Delaware and $150,000 to relator; dismissed with mutual releases
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 487 hrs
- Training location
- Certified Noodles & Company Training Restaurant and Central Support Office in Broomfield, CO
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee_with_approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Aloha Quick Service
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha Quick Service
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
6 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
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. Important context: Reported as net sales, not gross sales. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Noodles & Company?
Noodles & Company is franchised by Noodles & Company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Noodles & Company FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Noodles & Company FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 63 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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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.