June 2022
Throughout the month of June, Noodles & Company reinforced its ongoing support of the LGBTQIA+ community by honoring and celebrating Pride Month.
Pride Crispy Partnership with Out & Equal
For the second year in a row, Noodles featured its limited-edition Pride Crispy – an idea that was conceptualized by a Noodles team member: a delectable rainbow rice crispy treat made in-house with melted butter, marshmallows and crispy rice cereal, with added rainbow cereal in honor of Pride.
Throughout the month of June, Noodles pledged to donate proceeds, up to $25,000, from Noodles’ Pride Crispy sales at participating locations directly to Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, the premier organization advocating exclusively for LGBTQIA+ workplace equality.
Noodles Ongoing Support
For more than 25 years, Noodles has remained committed to nourishing and inspiring every team member, guest and community it serves by cultivating a workplace environment where team members can be their most authentic selves.
“For us, Pride Month means striving to make the world a better place – starting with our restaurants – by creating a culture where all feel welcomed and cared for. As a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I am thrilled for Noodles to once again support an initiative this Pride Month that directly impacts millions of LGBTQIA+ individuals nationwide,” said Carl Lukach, chief financial officer at Noodles & Company. “We are dedicated to caring about our team members and communities, a value that is at the center of everything we do at Noodles. Throughout Pride Month, our partnership with Out & Equal furthers that organization’s mission of making workplace equality a reality for all.”
Noodles Leads with Inclusion + Diversity
In recent years, Noodles introduced its first-ever inclusion and diversity (I&D) advisory council, strengthening its commitment to an inclusive culture. As a result of its ongoing commitment, Noodles has been named one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes two years in a row, ranking highest in the restaurant category in 2022. Noodles has also joined the CEO Action Pledge to commit to building more inclusive and supportive companies.
As part of Noodles’ commitment to putting its people first, the Company also introduced two new Affinity Groups, or Noodles Resource Groups (NRGs), to its lineup of industry-leading inclusive team member benefits. Tied to the launch of the new brand positioning Uncommon Goodness, Noodles unveiled PROUD and THRIVE, resource groups available for shift managers and above. PROUD is focused on elevating LGBTQIA+ community members and THRIVE is centered on elevating BIPOC team members. Noodles Resource Groups are a safe space for team members to come together to share ideas, elevate their voices, create career growth opportunities and engage with the community and resources.
Other industry-leading benefits that support Noodles’ LGBTQIA+ team members include paid maternity and paternity leave; surrogacy and adoption assistance of up to $10K; free mental health counseling; and gender-neutral bathrooms in Noodles restaurants across the country, so all team members and guests feel welcome and safe.
Furthering Its Support
Throughout the Month of June, Noodles’ I&D team worked closely with PROUD leadership and volunteers to plan a month’s worth of events to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. Noodles sponsored four Pride events throughout the country, in Boulder, Columbus, Kansas City and Milwaukee. The Company also launched “Let’s Chat Live,” a new internal podcast series that gives team members the platform to share their diverse perspectives, and created a new platform called “My Story,” which highlights the experiences of Noodles team members.
