Noodles & Co., a fast-casual restaurant concept offering noodles, pasta, soups, salads and sandwiches in the lunch and dinner dayparts, filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 23 related to the proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock. The number of shares to be sold and the price range for the proposed offering have not been determined.
Founded in 1995, Noodles & Co. has 288 company-owned and 51 franchised locations across 25 states and the District of Columbia. In its filing, the company noted it believes it can grow to 2,500 restaurants across the United States over the next 15 to 20 years if it continues to grow at its current rate.
Income from operations for the company was $16.1 million in 2012, up 34% from $12 million in 2011 and compared with $2 million in 2008. Revenues, meanwhile, climbed to $300.4 million in 2012, up 17% from $255.1 million in 2011 and compared with $170 million in 2008.
“We believe we are the only national fast-casual restaurant concept offering a menu with a wide variety of noodle and pasta dishes, soups, salads and sandwiches inspired by global flavors,” the company noted in the May 23 filing. “We believe our combination of attributes — global flavors and variety and fast service — allows us to compete against multiple segments throughout the restaurant industry.”
Additionally, Noodles & Co. said in the filing that it purposefully has chosen a range of healthy to indulgent dishes.
“Our menu encourages guests to customize their meals to meet their tastes and nutritional preferences with our selection of 14 fresh vegetables and 6 proteins — beef, pork, chicken, meatballs, shrimp and organic tofu,” the company said.
Catterton Partners, one of the largest consumer focused private equity firms in the United States with more than $2.5 billion of equity capital under active management, and Argentia Private Investments Inc. own approximately 90% of Noodles & Co.’s outstanding equity interests.
