Noodles & Company nears completion at Miller Hill Mall

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The Noodles & Company restaurant planned for Miller Hill Mall looks boarded up and abandoned from the outside.

Indeed, construction did stop for a time when plans needed revision. But the work is back on track with the eatery specializing in pasta dishes scheduled to open in mid-August, according to Machelle Kendrick, the mall’s marketing director.

“The interior work has been in full swing for the last few weeks again,” said Mall Manager Katie Altrichter.

The fast-growing chain based in Broomfield, Colo., serves noodles, pastas, salad, soups and sandwiches from Asia, the Mediterranean and America, using fresh, healthy ingredients. In fast-casual style, diners order at a counter and are served at tables.

Founded in 1995, the chain recently opened its 300th store, with most company-owned. The Duluth restaurant will be its 30th location in Minnesota and its first for Northern Minnesota. Most of its Minnesota locations are in the Twin Cities area.

The eatery will fill 2,700 square feet of space facing Miller Trunk Highway, formerly occupied by the Great American Bar & Grill, which closed last year. The pasta chain was already seeking job applicants online in January when news of its plans for a Duluth store broke.

OTHER MALL NEWS

Mall officials announced Wednesday that a new women’s clothing store will open at the mall next month.

Torrid, which offers trendy clothing for plus-sized young women, will open on Aug. 29 next to Hot Topic and near the Caribou Coffee kiosk. The 2,230-square-foot store will offer stylish clothing for women sizes 12 to 32.

The chain, owned by Hot Topic, has more than 170 stores in the United States.

Meanwhile, plans for a tea shop are also moving forward at the mall. Teavana, which sells high quality teas and serving accessories, plans to open a 500-square-foot store by the Center Court in late 2012. The tea chain, with 150 stores in the United States and Mexico, donates 1 percent of its annual profits to CARE, a humanitarian group fighting poverty.

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