8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

_______________

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT

TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): March 1, 2021

NOODLES & COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	001-35987	84-1303469
(State or Other Jurisdiction of	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer
Incorporation)		Identification No.)

520 Zang Street, Suite D
Broomfield,	CO	80021
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (720) 214-1900

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Class A common stock	NDLS	Nasdaq Global Select Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On March 3, 2021, Noodles & Company (the “Company”) announced that the Board of Directors of the Company promoted Brad West, 63, to Chief Operating Officer of the Company, effective March 1, 2021. Mr. West will receive an annual base salary of $335,000. He will continue to report directly to Chief Executive Officer Dave Boennighausen. The Company’s press release announcing Mr. West's appointment is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8‑K.

In September 2017, Mr. West joined Noodles as Executive Vice President of Operations with more than 40 years of operations experience. In his new role as Chief Operating Officer, Mr. West will continue to oversee the Company’s operations and training organization, as well as broaden his purview to oversee the franchise operations support program and the rollout of new kitchen upgrades. His role will be integral to the success of new unit growth, an area where he has already supported outstanding results with new restaurants recently achieving results among the best in the Company’s history. Mr. West’s prior experience includes serving as Vice President of Operations at Smoothie King Franchisees, Inc.

There were no arrangements or understandings between Mr. West and any other person pursuant to which Mr. West was selected as an officer. There are no family relationships between Mr. West and any director or executive officer of the Company required to be disclosed under Item 401(d) of Regulation S-K, and he does not have any direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

Item 8.01 Other Events.

Sue Petersen has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity and People.

Ms. Petersen joined Noodles in February of 2015 as Vice President of Human Resources, and in her expanded role, she will continue to spearhead the Company’s inclusion and diversity initiatives, as well as its total rewards, recruitment, and human resources functions. Ms. Petersen’s consistent focus on creating a welcoming and supportive environment has improved manager tenure and turnover, outperforming industry benchmarks. Ms. Petersen’s experience includes over 20 years of human resource and operational leadership roles at brands such as Chipotle, Walgreens and Rock Bottom Restaurants.

Corey Kline has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Technology.

Mr. Kline joined Noodles & Company in September of 2011 and has held leadership roles in the Company's IT function, most recently as Vice President of Information Technology beginning in July of 2016. Mr. Kline’s forward-looking approach to technology and governance has been instrumental in building the Company’s robust digital consumer platform as well as spearheading the Company’s efforts around a strong data security & compliance ecosystem.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	Noodles & Company Press Release, dated March 3, 2021
104	Cover Page Interactive Data File. The cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

		Noodles & Company
DATE: March 3, 2021	By:	/s/ KATHRYN LOCKHART
	Name:	Kathryn Lockhart
	Title:	Chief Accounting Officer

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Noodles & Company Builds Senior Leadership Team to Support Accelerated Growth Objectives

Promotions Highlight Company’s Commitment to People, Operational Excellence and Technological Innovation

Broomfield, Colo., March 3, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Noodles & Company (NASDAQ: NDLS) has promoted three members of its leadership team into expanded roles to drive the Company’s accelerated growth objectives, including system-wide unit growth of at least 7% annually beginning in 2022, average unit volumes of $1.45 million by 2024, and restaurant contribution margin of 20% by 2024.  

Dave Boennighausen, Chief Executive Officer at Noodles & Company, noted: “Our people-oriented strategy, continued operational excellence, and guest focused technological innovation is foundational to achieving our accelerated growth objectives. With these promotions, coupled with our bench strength in marketing and finance, we have built one of the best executive teams in the industry. The Noodles leadership team is strong, aligned and laser-focused on achieving our vision.” 

Brad West has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

In September 2017, Brad joined Noodles as Executive Vice President of Operations with more than 40 years of operations experience. In his new role as Chief Operating Officer, Brad will continue to oversee the Company’s operations and training organization, as well as broaden his purview to oversee the franchise operations support program and the rollout of new kitchen upgrades. His role will be integral to the success of new unit growth, an area where he has already supported outstanding results with new restaurants being the best performing class in the Company’s history. Brad’s prior experience includes serving as Vice President of Operations at Smoothie King Franchisees, Inc. 

Sue Petersen has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity and People.

Sue joined Noodles in February of 2015 as Vice President of Human Resources, and in her expanded role, she will continue to spearhead the Company’s inclusion and diversity initiatives, as well as its total rewards, recruitment, and human resources functions. Sue’s consistent focus on creating a welcoming and supportive environment has improved manager tenure and turnover, outperforming industry benchmarks. Sue’s experience includes over 20 years of human resource and operational leadership roles at brands such as Chipotle, Walgreens and Rock Bottom Restaurants. 

Corey Kline has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Technology.  

Corey joined Noodles & Company in September of 2011 and has held leadership roles in the IT function, most recently as Vice President of Information Technology since July of 2016. Corey’s forward-looking approach to technology and governance has been instrumental in building the Company’s robust digital consumer platform as well as spearheading the Company’s efforts around a strong data security & compliance ecosystem. 

About Noodles & Company

Since 1995, Noodles & Company has been serving noodles your way, with noodles and flavors that you know and love to new ones you're about to discover. From indulgent Wisconsin Mac & Cheese to better-for-you Zoodles, Cauliflower Noodles and Cauliflower Gnocchi, the Company serves a world of flavor in every bowl. Made up of more than 450 restaurants and 8,000 passionate team members, Noodles was named one of the Best Places to Work by the Denver Business Journal for its unique culture built on the value of "Loving Life," which begins by nourishing and inspiring every team member and guest who walks through the door. To learn more or find the location nearest you, visit www.noodles.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "might," "will," "objective," "intend," "should," "could," "can," "would," "expect," "believe," "design," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "plan" or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are based on currently available operating, financial and competitive information. Examples of forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts, such as statements regarding the Company's future financial performance and system-wide unit growth, including in light of management changes. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to reasons including, but not limited to those discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2020. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Also, the forward-looking statements contained herein represent the Company's estimates and assumptions only as of the date hereof. Unless required by United States federal securities laws, the Company does not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the statement is made.

Media Contact: Danielle Moore; Press@Noodles.com

XML

Cover Page	Mar. 01, 2021
Cover [Abstract]
Entity Address, Address Line One	520 Zang Street, Suite D
Entity Address, City or Town	Broomfield,
Entity Address, State or Province	CO
Entity Central Index Key	0001275158
Amendment Flag	false
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Mar. 01, 2021
Entity Registrant Name	NOODLES & COMPANY
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity File Number	001-35987
Entity Tax Identification Number	84-1303469
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	80021
City Area Code	720
Local Phone Number	214-1900
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Class A common stock
Trading Symbol	NDLS
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false