Headquartered in Broomfield in Colorado, the Noodles & Company is a fast-casual restaurant that offers American and International noodle dishes and other items such as soups, sandwiches, pasta & salads. The company was founded in 1995 by Aaron Kennedy. The company grew from just USD 300,000 revenue (1996) to USD 300 million when it went public for the first time in 2013.

As of July 2014, the company had a little more than 400 locations (including franchises) in 31 states. The majority of the pasta entrees in the restaurant are vegetarian but one can opt for option toppings which are rich in protein such as beef, chicken, shrimp or tofu. It also sells delicious desserts and flat breads.

HISTORY

The blueprint for the renowned Noodles & Company was conceptualized by the former marketing executive of Pepsi, Aaron Kennedy when he was eating at a noodle restaurant in Greenwich Village. He had a feeling that the number of restaurants that served good noodle dishes were simply not enough although the dish is considered staple in many international countries.

In 1994 he started on developing recipes out of his mother-in-law’s kitchen with help help from Ross Kamens, the head chef. Kennedy successfully raised USD 73,000 from his personal funds and as much as USD 200,000 in investments from as many as 24 family members and friends. The first outlet of this restaurant chain was opened at Denver in October 1995. He was soon joined by college mate, Tom Weigand, and together they opened the 2nd outlet at Madison in March, 1996.

However, all was not well with the company as it reported a loss of USD 42 000 within the 1st 3 months of its operation. It faced hard times in 1996 but Kennedy, in order to stop the slide, made a comprehensive list of 15 areas of improvement. After the changes were implemented, the company earned staggering revenue of USD 17.9 million as of 2015.

Noodles & Company embarked on franchising and the number of outlets began to grown in leaps and bounds. In a number of cities it earned the reputation of being the best fast casual restaurant. The company grew very fast and in 2006 Mr Kennedy stepped down as the CEO and Kevin Reddy took over as the new man in that position.

REVIEWS

Noodles & Company follows a unique policy whereby customers are required to first order their food at the counter and they are then served at the table. The wait period usually hovers between 5 to 7 min. The average cost of a meal is around USD 8 per person that makes it an enticing option for the office-goers and the college going students.

The place is very clean and the service is quite fast. As soon as you place your order and if you decide to eat at the restaurant, they will be giving you a number. One just needs to find a table and place the number on it. The wait is not very long and noodles are served in a big deep white bowl.

All the restaurants in the chain make intelligent use of soft lighting and the furniture is manufactured from recycled bamboo. Seating arrangements are in the form of benches and community tables and customers can order online or dine at the restaurant itself. Kids can enjoy a lot at the outlets as they have recently introduced customizable kids’ meals which are already a great hit.

The menu at the Noodles & Company is quite extensive and one of their most popular food items includes Pulled pork mac and cheese. One can also get comfort foods like meatballs, spaghetti, mac & cheese etc. The garlic bread tastes good too and they also have those fancy looking soda fountains that offer different types of soda.