Noodles & Company Coming to Cranberry Crossroads

A new tenant will be j and shopping plaza currently under construction along Route 228.

Noodles & Company has leased a spot in the retail building located in front of the separate two-story Dick’s Sporting Goods building, according to Ron Henshaw, Cranberry’s director of community development.

A fast casual chain specializing in noodle dishes from Thailand to Italy, Noodles & Company also has locations in Market Square in Pittsburgh and on Forbes Avenue in Oakland. The restaurant also serves sandwiches, soups and salads.

According to the company website, founder Aaron Kennedy opened his first Noodles & Company restaurant in Cherry Creek, Colo. in 1995. There are now hundreds of Noodles locations around U.S.

As for the globally-inspired menu, it includes noodles from three cuisines—Asian, Mediterranean and American. Some of the featured items are Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, Pad Thai and Pesto Cavatappi.

And there’s beer.

Noodles & Company serves beer and wine at most locations, according to the company website.

“The selection and availability varies for each restaurant, because our general managers get to select the brands they think our guests will like best,” a description on the company site said.

Henshaw said the Cranberry Crossroads complex is expected to be open by early November, just before the start of the holiday shopping season.

In addition to Noodles & Company, Dick’s Sporting Goods and La-Z-Boy, a Men’s Wearhouse is slated for the complex. A Getgo gas station and convenience store also is under construction at the space.

ECHO Realty, a Pittsburgh-based real estate and retail development company, is developing the shopping center. Pittsburgh's Elmhurst Group also is developing 90,000 square feet of business and professional office space in the same area.

Once finished, the plaza will include pedestrian and bike paths. There also are plans for a gazebo, trees, shrubs, benches and other landscaping details required by the township’s streetscape enhancement ordinance.

What do you think? Are you excited for Noodles opening in Cranberry? What other restaurants would you like to see in the area?