Successful Innovative Companies: Volume 2

The Successful Innovative Company of the week is Noodles and Company.

Why they are great: Simple, variety, fast, relaxing, easy. They have a relatively small menu of about 20 items total. They focus on noodle dishes so almost everything is some sort of pasta. They have just one menu not a separate menu for lunch and supper. The menu is also grouped by region like Asian and Mediterranean. The experience is: you go in and it is similar to Subway or Quiznos with several basic items and you can add meats or sides. Then you go to a table and sit down and 5-10 minutes later they bring your food you eat and then leave your stuff there and they clean it up. It is not a served meal so most people don't leave a tip. It is much faster than trying to go to a traditional sit down restaurant. The portion size is also fantastic. It is somewhat small but if you eat the whole meal you will not be hungry. It is probably the perfect size. They also price the meals well with most being 8-12 dollars. In summary: it's cheap, you get to sit down, the food is really good, they give you the right amount, and it is fast.

What they are lacking: More locations, especially in the northeast. This is a college wonder restaurant. I think they have free wi-fi at most places and this is definitively the kind of place to go for lunch and stay for two hours. This is a chain that should set up shop in every college town walking distance from 5000 college students.