As of December 31, 2024, how many total Noodles & Company restaurants were operating domestically?
Noodles_Company Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
As of December 31, 2024 Noodles & Company operated 371 domestic Company-owned Restaurants, and there were 92 Franchise-owned Restaurants, for a total of 463 restaurants. However, the Statement of Average and Median Net Sales consists of averages and medians of the reported Net Sales only for those restaurants open during the preceding 52-week period. Therefore, the restaurants that were excluded were those that opened in 2024. 380 Company-owned Restaurants were open and operating during the 52-week period. There were also 90 Franchise-owned restaurants open and operating during the 52-week period, for a total of 470. The remaining restaurants were not open for the full preceding 52-week period because they did not open until 2024.
In 2024 we permanently closed 13 Company-owned restaurants (none of which had been open less than 12 months) and 7 Franchise-owned restaurants closed. There were also 6 franchise restaurants refranchised during the year.
Source: Item 19 — FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPRESENTATIONS (FDD pages 84–89)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Noodles & Company's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, as of December 31, 2024, there were a total of 463 Noodles & Company restaurants operating domestically. This total is comprised of 371 company-owned restaurants and 92 franchise-owned restaurants. However, the financial performance representations in the FDD are based on a subset of these restaurants. Specifically, the statement of average and median net sales only includes restaurants open during the 52-week period preceding December 31, 2024.
For the purpose of calculating average and median net sales, Noodles & Company excluded restaurants that opened in 2024. This resulted in a sample of 470 restaurants, consisting of 380 company-owned and 90 franchise-owned locations. It is important to note that while 463 restaurants were operating as of December 31, 2024, the financial performance data is based on the 470 restaurants that were open and operating for the full 52-week period.
Additionally, the FDD mentions that in 2024, 13 company-owned restaurants and 7 franchise-owned restaurants were permanently closed. There were also 6 franchise restaurants that were refranchised during the year. These closures and refranchises could impact the overall financial performance and should be considered by potential franchisees. The distinction between the total number of restaurants operating at the end of the year and the number used for financial performance calculations highlights the importance of understanding the specific criteria used in the FDD's representations.