Noodles & Company announced that is has hired John Ramsay as vice president of franchise sales to support the company as they prepare for growth.
“We are aggressively building a robust development pipeline, and we plan to advance both our company and franchise strategies,” says Dave Boennighausen, chief executive officer at Noodles & Company. “We continue to target at least 10-15 new restaurant openings systemwide in 2021, with a target of at least 7% annual unit growth beginning 2022. John brings a breadth of experience that will enable us to take advantage of growth and partnership opportunities as they arise.”
Ramsay comes to Noodles with more than 28 years of experience in franchise and sales development. He will be critical in supporting Noodles’ restaurant growth initiatives by recruiting and selecting franchise partners, while also working with existing franchise partners to build out their Noodles & Company businesses through multiple restaurant locations. John will also partner closely with VP of Franchise Operations Carly Habein to cultivate strong relationships early in the partnership process with potential franchise prospects. Currently, 76 of Noodles 454 locations are franchise owned and operated with two more slated to open in early 2021.
“As a proven concept, Noodles is uniquely positioned to grow at this time,” adds Ramsay. “Noodles has innovated and adapted quickly to the off-premise experience and offers attractive unit-level economics for franchisees.”
Most recently, John led franchising and development efforts for Bruxie International, Marco’s Franchising, and Rubio’s Baja Grill. In addition to his franchise roles, John has also worked in construction and real estate for brands like Sbarro’s, T.G.I. Friday’s and Jack in the Box.
“Franchise growth is a tremendous opportunity for Noodles, and with John and Carly’s leadership, we will be able to accelerate unit growth while partnering with franchise operators who value our people culture and dedication to making Noodles the best place to work in the industry,” says Boennighausen.
Noodles has also hired two experienced real estate directors, Eric Briggs and Greg Burnthorn, who bring nearly two decades of combined real estate experience to the team. They will report to VP of Real Estate Dawn Rheinlander and join her in leading restaurant development.
“We believe that Noodles & Company’s strengths are perfectly suited for today’s consumer environment, and with these additions to our company and franchise development teams, we are even more equipped to take advantage of the opportunity to expand our footprint throughout the country,” says Boennighausen. “Strength in our most recent class of new restaurants, complemented by the development of an off-premise oriented, more efficient prototype, gives us great confidence in the opportunity to be one of the premier growth stories in the restaurant space in coming years.”
