Noodles & Co. Re-jiggers Franchise Criteria
-- Restaurants & Institutions, October 6, 2009
[PRESS RELEASE] While Colorado-based Noodles & Company isn’t buying into the value-meal or deep discount game so prevalent in today’s restaurant world, the noodles, soups and salads restaurant with 216 locations across 18 states has recalibrated its criteria for franchise owners. The company expects the new guidelines to spur interest in franchising opportunities with the brand, attract qualified candidates, and help the company grow into markets where it sees as strong opportunities. Markets of particular interest include Seattle, Nashville, Memphis, Southern California, Oklahoma City, Boise, Phoenix and Dallas.
The new franchise criteria are:
For 3 restaurants: Liquid cash or available assets of $1,000,000; net worth $2,000,000;For 4 to 8 restaurants: Liquid cash or available assets of $1,500,000; net worth $3,000,000;For more than 8 restaurants: Liquid cash or available assets of $2,000,000; net worth $5,000,000.
Depending on the market, Noodles is targeting between 10 and 65 store locations in each of the seven target markets, with each location employing between 18 and 25.
Some may think this isn’t the right environment to start a business, but The Kauffmann Foundation, the world's largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship, shows that more than half of the Fortune 500 companies were founded in a recession. In addition, Noodles is weathering the storm far better than its competitors. In fact, Noodles is enjoying success in the down economy as the restaurants continue to strike a chord with America's palate. Noodles & Company’s dedication to delivering a genuine dining experience helped the company grow to 100 restaurants in 10 years, but quickly add a second 100 in four. This year, amid the recession, Noodles is on plan to open 20-25 system-wide restaurants. In fact, franchise owners in recession-beaten Michigan and Indiana continue to grow and open new restaurants this year.
Here are a few other examples of the strong position Noodles & Company is currently in:
Over the past 10 years, the company has experienced at least 10 percent growth in sales each year, and in the past three years (2006-2008), Noodles & Company’s same-store sales growth has increased by nearly 20 percentAs most concepts are retracting, Noodles is experiencing 10-15% unit growth this year and will be opening around 20-25 new restaurantsDespite the economic environment, Noodles is still outperforming competitors and is posting positive same store sales for the year against very tough 2008 numbers (mid to high single digit growth)
For more information about Noodles and Company please visit www.noodlesfranchising.com.
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