Staffing

Noodles & Co names former Panera president interim CEO

Noodles Board member Drew Madsen will serve as interim CEO. Photo: Adobe

November 10, 2023

After reporting Tuesday that it was on its way to improving its financial performance, Noodles & Co announced Friday that CEO Dave Boennighausen was leaving the company after it decided to "transition to new leadership. Noodles Board member Drew Madsen will serve as interim CEO effective immediately, while the Board searches for a permanent CEO to lead the Company into its next phase of growth.

Most recently, Madsen, who has served on the Noodles Board since 2017, was president of Panera Bread. During his tenure from April 2015 to December 2016, he implemented clean food and aggressive cost reductions and helped to increase digital sales and home delivery, according to a company release.

His professional experience prior to Panera includes 15 years at Darden Restaurants, where he served as president and COO for nearly 10 years. He was also a board member at Darden and has previously served as an independent director on the board of Talbots Inc., the specialty retailer of women's fashion.

"We are very excited to have Drew step into the interim CEO role and remain on our Board," Jeff Jones, Noodles & Co board chairman, said in the release. "He is a seasoned executive with a deep understanding of our Company's operations and strategy and has a successful track record as a leader in the restaurant industry. We have full confidence in his ability to guide the company effectively during this time as we focus on key strategic initiatives to drive top-line growth and bottom-line results and significantly enhance stockholder value."

Noodles & Co reported Tuesday that total revenue decreased 1.2% to $127.9 million in its third quarter, ending Oct. 3 and that comparable restaurant sales were down 3.7% system-wide, comprised of a 4.3% decrease at company-owned restaurants and a 1.2% decrease at franchise restaurants.

Net income was $0.7 million, or 2 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $0.8 million, or 2 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2022.

"Noodles & Company made meaningful traction during the third quarter, evidenced by 200 bps of restaurant contribution margin expansion to 16.4% and nearly 20% growth in Adjusted EBITDA relative to the third quarter of the prior year," former CEO Boennighausen said in a company press release. "In the third quarter, we made tangible progress in improving the Company's economic model, while being opportunistic in completing our previously announced $5 million share repurchase program."

Boennighausen also said he was happy with the team's strategies to improve comparable restaurant sales trends.

"Our introduction of Chicken Parmesan in September has been one of our most successful new product launches in history and serves as an excellent foundation as we focus on enhancing and optimizing our menu with the help of an industry-leading culinary consulting firm," he said. "Additionally, we have made progress on our efforts towards price optimization and leveraging our robust digital guest engagement capabilities, supported by digital menu boards, which we anticipate will be installed at all company restaurants by the end of 2023."

Noodles & Co has over 450 restaurants.