Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 30, 2025

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

Employee Benefit Plans

Defined Contribution Plan

In October 2003, the Company adopted a defined contribution plan, The Noodles & Company 401(k) Plan (the “401(k) Plan”). Company employees aged 21 or older, are eligible to participate in the 401(k) Plan beginning on the first day of the calendar month following 30 days of employment. Under the provisions of the 401(k) Plan, the Company may, at its discretion, make contributions to the 401(k) Plan. Participants are 100% vested in their own contributions. In 2019, the board of directors authorized matching contributions equal to 25% of the first 4% of compensation that is deferred by the participant. The Company recognized matching contribution expense of $0.4 million in each of the fiscal years 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Deferred Compensation Plan

The Company’s deferred compensation plan, under which compensation deferrals began in 2013, is a non-qualified deferred compensation plan which allows highly compensated employees to defer a portion of their base salary and variable compensation, including 401(k) refund, each plan year. To offset its obligation, the Company holds a portfolio of mutual funds in a Rabbi Trust. As of December 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, $1.0 million and $1.2 million, respectively, were included in other assets, net, which represents the value of the mutual funds, and $1.0 million and $1.2 million, respectively, were included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities, which represents the carrying value of the liability for deferred compensation.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

In 2013, the Company adopted an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) under which eligible team members may voluntarily contribute up to 15% of their salaries, subject to limitations, to purchase common stock at a price equal to 85% of the fair market value of a share of the Company’s common stock on the first day of each offering period or 85% of the fair market value of a share of the Company’s common stock on the last day of each offering period, whichever amount is less. In general, all non-highly compensated employees who have been employed by the Company for at least 30 days prior to the offering period and who are regularly scheduled to work more than 20 hours per week and for more than five months in any calendar year, are eligible to participate in the ESPP which operates in-line with the Company’s fiscal quarters. A total of 93,750 shares of common stock are available for issuance under the ESPP. The Company has issued a total of 81,189 shares under this plan, of which 19,940 shares were issued during 2025. A total of 12,561 shares remain available for future issuance. The number of shares reflect the 1-for-8 Reverse Stock Split effectuated on February 18, 2026. All historical share and per share amounts reflected in this Report have been adjusted to reflect the Reverse Stock Split. Refer to Note 18: Subsequent Event for further discussion.

For 2025, in accordance with the guidance for accounting for stock compensation, the Company estimated the fair value of the stock purchase plan using the Black-Scholes multiple-option pricing model. The average assumptions used in the model included a 3.77% risk-free interest rate; 0.25 years expected life; expected volatility of 103.4%; and a zero percent dividend yield. The weighted average fair value per share at grant date was $0.24. In 2025, the Company recognized $36,000 of compensation expense related to the ESPP.