Business Description

Noodles & Company is a restaurant concept offering lunch and dinner within the fast-casual segment of the restaurant industry. Our core offerings include noodle and pasta dishes, staples of many different cuisines, with the goal of delivering fresh ingredients and flavors from around the world under one roof. Today, our globally-inspired menu includes a wide variety of high quality, cooked-to-order dishes, including noodles and pasta, salads, soups and appetizers. As of December 30, 2025, we operated 423 restaurants in 31 states, which included 340 company locations and 83 franchise locati ons. Noodles & Company is a Delaware corporation that was organized in 2002. Noodles & Company and its subsidiaries are sometimes referred to as “Noodles,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company” in this report. We refer to our Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, as our “common stock.” On February 18, 2026, we implemented a 1-for-8 reverse stock split of our Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Reverse Stock Split”). All share, per share and share price amounts, whether from prior to, on, or after such date have been adjusted to reflect the Reverse Stock Split. Our Concept and Business Strategy We believe Noodles is a broadly appealing concept in the national fast-casual dining space. We are focused on offering customers flavorful, cooked-to-order dishes in a warm and welcoming environment at an attractive value. We offer approximately 20 globally-inspired and highly customizable dishes that can be enjoyed inside our restaurants, taken to-go, or delivered to our customers. Our customers experience the Noodles brand through our company-owned and franchise operated locations, and digitally through our mobile app, website www.noodles.com and third-party delivery services. In 2025, approximately 59% of our sales were derived from digital ordering, where guests have the opportunity to select in restaurant quick pick-up or delivery to their home or office. We believe that the breadth of ways that consumers can access our brand, the variety inherent in our menu, and how well our food travels is a business strength in relation to consumer trends towards convenience. We are one of the only national restaurant chains to offer a menu devoted to noodles across a variety of cuisines. We offer a wide variety of flavor profiles, combining classic noodle dishes with more contemporary options. We hand-chop fresh vegetables and prepare nine noodle varieties in-house every day. All of our dishes are cooked-to-order. Choice and customization have always been a great strength of the brand. This focus on culinary innovation allows us to prepare and serve high quality food and meet changing consumer expectations. In 2025, we completed one of the most comprehensive menu upgrades in our 30-year history with the launch of eight new and four upgraded entrées followed by the third quarter launch of the value-priced Delicious Duos option. This included reimagined favorites including more sauce, more vegetables, and more premium ingredients. Additionally, the new menu includes thoughtfully curated new dishes with bold flavors that addressed gaps in our existing menu offering. The recent introduction of the Delicious Duos platform is designed to drive more frequency as a value option. Consistent with our culture of enhanced customer service, we seek to hire, develop and retain individuals who will deliver prompt, attentive service by engaging customers the moment they enter our restaurants. Our training philosophy empowers both our restaurant managers and team members, also referred to as employees, to add a personal touch when engaging with our customers. Our restaurant managers are critical to our success, as we believe that their entrepreneurial spirit and outreach efforts build our brand in our communities. Restaurant Portfolio and Franchising Restaurant Portfolio. As of December 30, 2025, we had 340 company-owned restaurants and 83 franchise restaurants in 31 states. Our restaurants are typ ically between 2,000 and 2,600 square feet and are located in end-cap, in-line or free-standing locations across a variety of suburban, collegiate and urban m arkets. We continue to analyze our restaurant prototype design to better facilitate future expansion and better meet the needs of the changing consumer experience. 1 Table of Contents Restaurant De velopment. In 2025, we opened two new company-owned restaurants.…