Noodles & Company Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Noodles & Company franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Noodles & Company discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it B.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses 2025 net sales (avg $1.35M, median $1.30M) and company restaurant EBITDA ($163.5K avg, 11.8% margin). Excludes franchisee royalties and operating costs; notes 43.4% units exceeded average.
What a Noodles & Company franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 4% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 9% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $1,061,500 – $1,707,500 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
BDF 1.75%, FMF 1.0%, MAF 1.25% (total marketing cap 5.5%); RTS $1K/month; transfer $3.5K.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Noodles & Company system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 423 |
| Ceased operations | 9 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 2.1% of outlets |
9 franchise closures in 2025; 31 company closures signal performance stress.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Noodles & Company worth it? — how it compares to 164 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 9% of sales | steeper than 68% of quick service restaurants franchises |
| Startup cost | from $1,061,500 | pricier than 83% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade B | more honest than 85% of quick service restaurants franchises |
| Closure rate | 2.1% of outlets | about average |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | about average |
Benchmarked against every quick service restaurants franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Noodles & Company
The franchisor's framing: Discloses 2025 net sales (avg $1.35M, median $1.30M) and company restaurant EBITDA ($163.5… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
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Noodles & Company franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Noodles & Company franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $1,061,500–$1,707,500, including a $35,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Noodles & Company franchise owners make?
- Discloses 2025 net sales (avg $1.35M, median $1.30M) and company restaurant EBITDA ($163.5K avg, 11.8% margin). Excludes franchisee royalties and operating costs; notes 43.4% units exceeded average. We grade this disclosure B for honesty.
- What are the Noodles & Company franchise fees?
- Noodles & Company's FDD discloses a $35,000 initial franchise fee, a 5% royalty on gross sales, a 4% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 9% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. BDF 1.75%, FMF 1.0%, MAF 1.25% (total marketing cap 5.5%); RTS $1K/month; transfer $3.5K.
- What is the Noodles & Company franchise profit margin?
- Noodles & Company does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses 2025 net sales (avg $1.35M, median $1.30M) and company restaurant EBITDA ($163.5K avg, 11.8% margin). Excludes franchisee royalties and operating costs; notes 43.4% units exceeded average. Recurring fees alone take about 9% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Noodles & Company franchise failure rate?
- 9 franchise closures in 2025; 31 company closures signal performance stress.
- How many Noodles & Company locations are there?
- Noodles & Company's FDD reports 423 total outlets, with 9 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Noodles & Company have complaints or lawsuits?
- Noodles & Company discloses 1 legal matter in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Noodles & Company franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Noodles & Company scores B on disclosure honesty, carries about 9% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Noodles & Company or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.