Pasta Chain With Nearly 500 Restaurants Shutters Locations

It’s been a volatile five years for the restaurant business, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which had an abrupt and swift financial impact on the industry as a whole, and up until the present day, with inflation and tariff pressure driving operating costs up and demand down. Many chains, including Boston Market, Hometown Buffet, and Sweet Tomatoes, went out of business altogether, while many others have been forced to reorganize their business plans and shift priorities. One major pasta chain with nearly 500 restaurants recently revealed it was closing at least 21 restaurants this year. Here is why.

Noodles & Company Is Closing Up to 21 Restaurants

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Noodle & Company has announced the anticipated closure of up to 21 restaurants within the year. “We expect to close 13 to 17 company-owned and four franchise restaurants in 2025,” chief financial officer Michael Hynes said in a conference call announcing results for the quarter ended April 1, 2025.

Nine Have Closed Within the Last Year

This is in addition to nine that have closed since the end of the first quarter of 2024, when it had 469. It currently operates 369 company-owned restaurants (11 less than a year ago) in addition to 91 franchised locations, up from 89.

However, Sales Are Up

The company maintains that these closures aren’t a sign of duress. Instead, they are part of a brand transformation and strategy to close underperforming restaurants while opening new, more promising locations. According to documents filed with the Security & Exchange Commission, they opened a company-owned location in January, with another slated for June. Same-store sales are up 4.4% — 4.7% at company-owned locations, and traffic was up 1.8%.

They Recently Overhauled the Menu

The brand recently overhauled the menu, which Madsen claims was a game-changer. He gave specific props to three new menu items introduced in October (Lemon Garlic Shrimp Scampi, Chipotle Chicken Cavatappi, and Crispy Chicken Bacon Alfredo) and six new items in March, and a new and improved version of its mac & cheese line. A two-month, limited-time offer of Steak Stroganoff, first introduced last year, also fared well.

They Believe the Additon of Steak Stroganoff Was Impactful

“We believe this dish will continue to be a strong, seasonally appropriate Q1 LTO in future years,” Madsen said about the Steak Stroganoff. He maintains the menu rollout was responsible for sales increasing about 5% through the end of April. “This sustained and significant improvement in our sales trends demonstrates to us that the execution of our previously announced strategic priorities have gained traction, especially while coming during a period when the industry has been impacted by lower consumer sentiment,” Madsen said.

Sales “Exceeded Expectations”

“We are certainly excited about the guest response to our new menu after seven weeks, including sales of our new mac & cheese dishes, which have significantly exceeded expectations,” he said.

A New Ad Campaign Also Made an Impact

He also attributed rising sales to the brand’s new marketing campaign called “We Know Noodles,” which “focuses on the enduring love consumers of all ages have for noodles and lets them know we have a big new menu they’ll be excited to try,” Madsen said.