Noodles & Company Soft Open Focuses on Off-Prem
Weeks before Noodles & Company's newest location in Minot, ND, opened for dine-in on August 6, the fast casual brand was focusing on to-go, pickup, and delivery orders only.
The new location also includes a drive-thru pickup window for digital orders. Guests can place their order in advance and use the quick pickup window to grab their food on the go without leaving the car.
Noodles move to include a digital drive-thru comes as drive-thru visits have increased 36% since the early days of the pandemic with 9 out of 10 visiting in May 2021, according to the State of What Feeds Us report.
Drive-thrus, according to market research firm The NPD Group, are the key to the industry's future. Consumer demand for drive-thru has spurred brands to revisit their store development plans, adding drive-thrus and contactless pickup options to their new designs. A&W Restaurants' growth plan prioritizes drive-thru. Based on strong performance of its Chipotlanes, Chipotle has said more than half of its stores in development will have a digital drive-thru. And a Taco Bell franchisee, is planning a new location in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, with four drive-thru lanes.
Minot-based Little Deep Pasta is the Western North Dakota franchisee of Noodles & Company dating back to 2015, and currently owns eight locations across Nebraska and Montana. Little Deep Pasta has plans to open additional Noodles & Company restaurants in Dickinson and Williston in the future.
Noodles & Company’s menu offers guests familiar and global-inspired flavors from around the world that cater to every appetite. Guests can use the Noodles Rewards app for convenient options such as takeout, delivery, and curbside pickup.
