Popular comfort food brand closing dozens of restaurants

Getting smaller isn't ever a atrocious thing.

Even truly palmy brands request to adjacent stores successful immoderate situations owed to colonisation shifts, rent increases, oregon different operating changes.

That's thing Amazon's relationship firm, Archamedia Accountants, stressed to IFAMagazine.

“It is important to recognise that contempt the galore store closures successful caller times, retail is not dying, but evolving. Therefore, it is indispensable that businesses perpetually accommodate and respond to the market. Store closures themselves don’t ever request to awesome a ‘downfall’ oregon an ‘end;’ sometimes they tin signify a cardinal measurement toward fiscal betterment and a displacement successful absorption connected areas specified arsenic e-commerce.”

Penn State Smeal College of Business Assistant Professor Hari Sridhar and his colleagues from the University of Texas and Michigan State University recovered that selective closures tin beryllium a positive.

"Researchers find that concatenation retailers with a precocious marketplace stock thin to summation steadfast worth erstwhile stores are closed but that worth suffers erstwhile caller stores are opened. Store closings heighten steadfast worth by closing little profitable store locations, but caller store openings whitethorn rise concerns astir profitability," their probe showed.

One struggling fast-food concatenation has been closing locations, but it's doing truthful successful an effort to marque the remainder of the institution healthy.

Noodles & Company CEO Joseph D. Christina explained wherefore the concatenation has been closing stores.

"Turning to net and borderline growth, we proceed to marque disciplined decisions that fortify our concern and presumption america for sustained profitability. One of the astir important levers we tin propulsion is the strategical closure of underperforming restaurants," helium shared during the chain's third-quarter net call.

He made it wide that closing a store is not an casual decision.

"We are approaching these closures thoughtfully, focusing connected locations wherever we tin efficaciously transportation income to adjacent restaurants fixed a precocious premix of off-premise revenue," helium added.

Closing restaurants, the CEO made clear, won't effect successful losing 100% of the income those locations generated.

"From the restaurants we program to close, we expect to clasp astir 30% of income done transportation to neighboring units, accordant with the show of caller closed locations. These actions amended wide income leverage and heighten restaurant-level profitability and efficiency," helium said.

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These shutdowns volition enactment the institution successful a amended position.

"These closures are ne'er easy, but they are the close ones for the semipermanent wellness of the brand. By tightening our portfolio and focusing connected high-performing restaurants and markets, we tin fortify operations, elevate the impermanent experience, and absorption connected innovation that drives continued maturation successful income and margin," helium added.

• Noodles plans to unopen up to 49 company-owned restaurants by the extremity of 2026.
  Source: Restaurant Business Online

• For 2025 specifically, the institution expects to adjacent 28-32 company-owned locations and four franchised restaurants.
  Source: Nation's Restaurant News

• As of its Q2 2025 report, six company-owned and two franchise restaurants were closed successful conscionable that quarter.
  Source: Noodles & Company capitalist relations

• In 2024, Noodles closed 13 company-owned restaurants and seven franchise locations; 10 caller company‑owned restaurants opened.
  Source: Noodle & Company capitalist relations

• Despite the closures, Noodles is besides opening caller restaurants: For example, 2 company-owned units are expected successful 2025.
  Source: Nation's Restaurant News

• Total gross decreased 0.5% to $122.1 cardinal from $122.8 cardinal successful the 3rd 4th of 2024.

• Comparable edifice income accrued 4.0% system-wide, comprised of a 4.0% summation astatine company-owned restaurants and a 4.3% summation astatine franchise restaurants.

• Net nonaccomplishment was $9.2 million, oregon $0.20 nonaccomplishment per diluted share, compared to a nett nonaccomplishment of $6.8 million, oregon $0.15 nonaccomplishment per diluted share, successful the 3rd 4th of 2024.
  Net nonaccomplishment successful the 3rd 4th of 2025 included $5.3 cardinal of pre-tax edifice impairments, chiefly related to the planned closures of underperforming restaurants. Net nonaccomplishment successful the 3rd 4th of 2024 included $0.2 cardinal of pre-tax edifice impairments.

• Operating borderline was 5.2% compared to 3.9% successful the 3rd 4th of 2024.
  Source: Noodles & Company capitalist relations

Jefferies analysts took a affirmative presumption of the store closures.

"The steadfast besides viewed Noodles & Co.’s determination to adjacent much underperforming stores successful 2025-2026 arsenic prudent, acknowledging that portion the company’s turnaround volition instrumentality time, the risk/reward illustration remains positively skewed," Investing.com reported.

This communicative was primitively reported by TheStreet connected Nov 16, 2025, wherever it archetypal appeared successful the Restaurant section. Add TheStreet arsenic a Preferred Source by clicking here.