Colorado-based Noodles & Company is one of several fast-casual chains — restaurants with limited service that sit in a sweet spot between traditional fast-food and casual sit-down chains — that have rapidly expanded in recent years. Most of the chain's more than 450 locations are company-owned, and some are franchised. Noodles & Company, which was founded in 1995, went public in 2013 at $18 per share. Its stock currently trades closer to $16.