A Major Fast Casual Chain’s CFO Came Clean About Its Future After Brutal 2025

Another restaurant chain is drowning as a result of the Biden-born economic disaster.

The closures keep piling up as inflation crushes working families.

And now a major fast casual chain’s CFO just made one brutal admission about its future.

Noodles & Company chain shutters dozens of locations to stop the bleeding

Noodles & Company announced plans to close up to 35 restaurants in 2025 as the fast-casual chain fights for survival.

The company already closed 29 locations through October and expects to finish the year with between 31 and 34 company-owned restaurants shuttered, plus another seven to eight franchised locations.

CFO Mike Hynes admitted the ugly truth during an earnings call.

"We're very pleased with the results from closing underperforming restaurants," Hynes said.

Translation: they've been hemorrhaging cash at dozens of locations and finally pulled the plug.

About 30% of guests from shuttered locations transfer to nearby Noodles restaurants.

That's 70% of customers just gone — walking away to competitors or cooking at home instead.

CEO admits chain has been closing money-losing stores for years

This isn't new for Noodles & Company.

The Broomfield, Colorado-based chain has been playing whack-a-mole with failing locations since 2017 when it closed 55 restaurants in six months.

That represented 10% of their footprint at the time.

CEO Joe Christina tried to spin the closures as strategic portfolio management.

"These closures are never easy, but they are the right ones for the long-term health of the brand," Christina said.

"By tightening our portfolio and focusing on high-performing restaurants and markets, we can strengthen operations, elevate the guest experience, and focus on innovation that drives continued growth in sales and margin."

But here's what Christina won't tell you — the chain is running out of locations to close.

Noodles ended 2024 with 371 company-owned and 92 franchised units.

By the end of 2025 they'll be down to around 340 company stores.

And they're already planning to close another 12 to 17 restaurants in 2026.

The Denver chain has been desperately trying everything to turn things around — rolling out a completely new menu that replaced 70% of their offerings, launching Delicious Duos combos starting at $9.95, even bragging about October same-store sales jumping 8%.

But when you're closing dozens of locations, traffic gains at surviving stores don't tell the whole story.

Inflation crisis is still killing Americans and America's restaurant industry

Noodles & Company isn't alone in this death spiral.

The restaurant industry is getting absolutely hammered by the economic wreckage Biden-Harris left behind.

TGI Fridays filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after closing more than 100 restaurants.

Red Lobster shut down 131 locations before its own bankruptcy filing.

Denny's closed 88 locations in 2024 and announced plans to shutter up to 150 total.

Applebee's has been closing more restaurants than it opens for nine straight years.

The pattern is obvious — casual dining and fast casual chains that target middle-class families are being destroyed.

Food and labor costs for the average restaurant have each surged 35% over the past five years.

According to Restaurant Dive, 87% of restaurant operators faced increased food prices in 2024, and 88% reported higher labor costs.

Restaurants operate on razor-thin margins.

When costs explode while inflation-squeezed customers cut back on dining out, there's nowhere to hide.

Bank of America data shows traffic at quick-service restaurants dropped 3.6% in December 2024.

The National Restaurant Association found that 75% of restaurant traffic in 2024 came from takeout orders rather than people eating inside.

Consumers are cooking at home more and choosing value when they do eat out.

Fast casual chains like Noodles priced themselves above fast food but below true sit-down dining.

Now they're stuck in no man's land as inflation-weary families either trade down to cheaper options or splurge on full-service restaurants when they want an experience.

Noodles & Company's stock has been a disaster.

The company faced delisting warnings from Nasdaq for failing to maintain minimum stock price requirements.

Former CEO Drew Madsen stepped down for health reasons in August 2025 after watching the company burn through cash.

The chain's third quarter 2025 report showed $5.3 million in restaurant impairments related to planned closures.

That's money they'll never get back from locations that should never have been opened in the first place.

Despite all the closures and restructuring, Noodles still carries $108.3 million in debt.

The company ended the second quarter with just $2.3 million in cash.

Research from Penn State shows that selective closures can boost company value by eliminating unprofitable locations.

But there's a limit to how much you can shrink your way to prosperity.

Noodles is betting everything on their menu overhaul and repositioning around the tagline "We Know Noodles."

The problem is customers know something too — they know inflation destroyed their budgets and restaurant meals are becoming a luxury they can't afford.

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Sources:

• Lisa Jennings, "Noodles & Company plans to shutter up to 49 restaurants by the end of 2026," Restaurant Business, August 13, 2025.
• Sarah Bregel, "Noodles & Company to close more locations: Doomed list now up to 21 as restaurant chains trim down in 2025," Fast Company, May 15, 2025.
• "Popular pasta chain closing dozens of restaurants," TheStreet, November 17, 2025.
• Lisa Jennings, "Shuttering underperforming restaurants is paying off for Noodles & Company," Restaurant Business, November 6, 2025.
• "Noodles & Company Announces Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results," Noodles & Company investor relations, September 30, 2025.
• "Noodles & Company plans to close up to 35 restaurants this year," QSR Magazine, January 13, 2026.
• Joe Guszkowski, "Bankruptcies wiped out a lot of full-service restaurant locations last year," Restaurant Business, July 9, 2025.
• "America has lost its appetite for casual dining chains," CNN Business, April 4, 2025.