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Noodles & Company spent the past year rebuilding its operating model, closing underperforming restaurants, boosting its menu pipeline, and changing how it reaches consumers
The fast casual’s Q2 results prove the work is taking hold. Systemwide same-store sales increased 10.3 percent, including an 11.4 percent jump at company-owned restaurants and 5.5 percent growth at franchised locations. Company traffic rose 7.6 percent, meaning most of the sales improvement came from more visits instead of price.
Average check increased 3.8 percent, including 2.1 percent effective pricing. The performance marked Noodles’ strongest Q2 comps growth since becoming a public company in 2013. Momentum carried into the third quarter, with company-owned same-store sales up roughly 10 percent quarter to date. “When I step back and look at the progress we’ve made, I believe it’s clear that Noodles is back,” CEO Joe Christina said during the brand’s Q2 earnings call. “Not because of one quarter or one campaign, but because we’ve built an organization that’s consistently executing.” Noodles’ restaurant-level margin expanded 440 basis points year-over-year, from 12.8 percent to 17.2 percent, its highest level in five years.