Noodles & Company to open first international unit

Noodles & Company is taking its first step outside the U.S. with a location scheduled to open in Toronto next week, the company said Thursday.

The Broomfield, Colo.-based fast-casual chain will make its Canadian debut in the TD Centre, a six-tower office-and-retail complex in Toronto’s financial district.

Kevin Reddy, Noodles & Company chairman and CEO, said in a statement that the chain’s globally inspired menu will have appeal in Toronto.

“The TD Centre is a very attractive location for our first restaurant in the market, serving as a busy hub for a broad group of consumers to work, shop and dine,” Reddy said. “We believe it is an ideal location to introduce the brand to the market.”

For now, Noodles & Company plans to expand into Canada with company-owned locations.

Next year, the chain plans to focus development on existing markets, including Canada, which will allow for the building of stronger brand awareness.

Noodles & Company president Keith Kinsey said more units are planned in the Toronto area and in Canada as a whole, but he couldn’t say definitively how many at this point.

Because of the number of office workers in the complex, the restaurant will be the chain’s first to offer breakfast, in addition to lunch and dinner.

The breakfast menu will include items like a Spinach Bacon English Muffin, a Jam & Ham English Muffin, a Mediterranean Breakfast Wrap, a Sriracha Steak Breakfast Wrap and a French Toast Breakfast Sandwich, along with assorted pastries, organic oatmeal, yogurt and coffee.

Kinsey said the chain has done some testing of breakfast in the U.S.

“Right now, we’ll only do breakfast in Canada,” he said, because it is a good fit for the location. “But who knows about the future.”

Noodles & Company operates and franchises 455 restaurants across the U.S. The company expects to open 50 to 60 units this year, surpassing the 500-unit milestone before the end of 2015.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
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