Noodles and Company plans to open its newest location on K Street in six to eight weeks, ending a site search that stretched for several months.
The company, based in Broomfield, Co., will occupy 3,500 square feet on the first floor of the 1667 K Street NW building. This will be the second company-owned location that opens its doors in the District in little over a year. In December 2011, the "fast casual" noodles chain opened a restaurant in Woodley Park.
"We’ve been looking to expand in the D.C. area," said Mandy Melby, Noodles and Company communications manager. "Recognizing that we didn’t really have a presence downtown and that this would be a really nice opportunity."
Melby says the size and location are "perfect" for the new restaurant, which she hopes will help the company gain brand recognition in Washington and compete with other diners and cafes in the area. Although she did not disclose how much money the company has allocated to buildout, she says the average investment per location is around $675,000.
"D.C. has really been our focus. When this became available, we really wanted to take advantage of it, she says about the K Street location. "We’ve been looking to expand in the D.C. area and is kind of an ongoing [search]."
Noodles and Company has grown from a single restaurant in 1995 to nearly 300 in 23 states, including both company and franchise-owned. It serves Asian, Mediterranean and American-inspired dishes.
The restaurant will be located at the corner of K Street and 17th NW, an area with a high-density of business and office buildings, and will hire 30 employees.
The K Street Noodles & Company restaurant will offer lunch and dinner, wine and beer, and has a parking garage and a ground-floor patio. James Campbell Company, LLC, a Hawaii-based real estate company, owns the K Street building.
Luis Velarde writes about business, investments, real estate, and urban development. His work has appeared in the BBC World Service, Voice of America and others.