Wild Noodles eyes Spokane area

A Phoenix-based restaurant chain wants to open several locations in the Spokane area.

Wild Noodles has four stores in Arizona and New Jersey and plans to develop 175 more in several states. The company just started looking at the Spokane market about a month ago and would like to open two corporate-owned locations and up to five franchises in the area in the next few years, said company President George Krotonsky.

After the first store opened in Phoenix in December 2000, calls started coming in from all over the country from people interested in opening franchises, he said.

“I think it was something new going on. It was different from a burger place or a pizza place,” Krotonsky said. “We’re in the middle of something that’s really interesting and really different.”

Wild Noodles is a “fast, casual” restaurant, Krotonsky said. That means customers order at a counter, but then food is brought to tables on “real plates, with real silverware.” Entrees are in the $5 to $7 range and include American, Mexican, Asian and Italian choices, with noodles as the common denominator. Among the menu items are beef stroganoff, chicken marsala and Thai curry. However, any of the menu items can be ordered noodle-free to satisfy low-carb diets.

The restaurants are usually 2,400 square feet, with 80 customer seats. The company prefers locations in strip malls with high visibility and good parking. The eateries are decorated with dark wood, granite countertops and stained concrete floors.

Krotonsky said potential Spokane franchisees have contacted Wild Noodles with interest in opening restaurants here. The franchisee would have the rights to the entire Spokane market, therefore the requirements are fairly strict, Krotonsky said. The franchisee agreement requires a minimum of $750,000 in net worth, and liquidity of $250,000. The average store costs $300,000 to $350,000 to build, he said.

Development agreements in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, New Jersey, Minnesota, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Nebraska and George are expected to bring 135 new restaurants to those states in the next four years.

Krotonsky expects to secure agreements before the end of the year for 200 additional locations in states including California, Oregon, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington and Utah.