Is Noodles & Company obligated to assist franchisees in obtaining hardware, software, or related services for changes and upgrades to computer systems?
Noodles_Company Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
vendor. There are no contractual limits on the frequency or cost of your obligation to obtain the upgrades.
Neither we, nor any of our affiliates, are required to provide ongoing maintenance, repairs, upgrades or updates to your computer systems.
Except as described in the following paragraph, we have no obligation to assist you in obtaining hardware, software or related services for these changes and upgrades. There are no contractual limits on the frequency or cost of your obligation to obtain these upgrades. Our specified hardware may be purchased from multiple suppliers and most of the software we require may be purchased from multiple suppliers.
You must purchase from us certain IT support services, including support of internet/phone, Aloha (POS), OLO and NoodlesRewards, data security and PCI, restaurant Office365 email account and restaurant iPad management, pursuant to an IT Support Services Agreement. Our current monthly fees for our NoodlesRewards program are $58 per month per restaurant. Our current form of IT Support Services Agreement is included as Exhibit H to this disclosure document. The IT Support Services Agreement details the specific IT Support Services you must obtain from us for which we charge $1000 per month, per restaurant.
ITEM 12 TERRITORY
Franchise Agreement.
You will not receive an exclusive territory under the Franchise Agreement. You may face competition from other franchisees, from outlets that we own, or from other channels of distribution or competitive brands that we control. The Franchise Agreement grants to you the right to own and operate a Noodles & Company restaurant at a specific location during the term of the agreement. You may not conduct the business of your Noodles & Company at any site other than that location. You may not relocate your Noodles & Company restaurant without our prior written consent. We will evaluate any proposed relocation site based on the then-current criteria we use to evaluate prospective franchise restaurant sites. The Franchise Agreement does not provide you with any options, rights of first refusal or similar rights to acquire additional franchises.
During the term of your Franchise Agreement, and provided you are in compliance with the Franchise Agreement and any other agreements with us or our affiliates and are current on all obligations due to us or our affiliates, we will not operate (directly or through an affiliate), nor grant to another person the right to operate, any Noodles & Company restaurant located within a geographical area surrounding your Noodles & Company restaurant that we specify in an exhibit to the Franchise Agreement ("Protected Area").
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 36–48)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Noodles & Company Franchise Disclosure Document, Noodles & Company is generally not obligated to assist franchisees in obtaining hardware, software, or related services for changes and upgrades to computer systems. There are no contractual limits on the frequency or cost of the franchisee's obligation to obtain these upgrades.
However, Noodles & Company does require franchisees to purchase certain IT support services directly from them. These services include support for internet/phone, Aloha (POS), OLO and NoodlesRewards, data security and PCI, restaurant Office365 email account and restaurant iPad management, pursuant to an IT Support Services Agreement. The current monthly fees for the NoodlesRewards program are $58 per month per restaurant. The IT Support Services Agreement details the specific IT Support Services franchisees must obtain from Noodles & Company for which they charge $1000 per month, per restaurant.
Noodles & Company specifies the hardware and software franchisees must use, including the Aloha Quick Service application, kitchen video, and Aloha Credit Card software. The typical hardware platform compatible with Aloha generally costs $20,000 to $25,000 per restaurant, a cost included in Item 7 of the FDD. Annual hardware and software maintenance costs for these systems are approximately $3,000 per restaurant. Franchisees are also required to purchase and use necessary polling and communication software to communicate daily financial information to Noodles & Company. If Noodles & Company elects to change the software or hardware in the future, franchisees are required to make the same changes or upgrades at their own cost.