Restaurant Impairments, Closure Costs and Asset Disposals - Schedule of Impairments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Sep. 29, 2020	Oct. 01, 2019	Sep. 29, 2020	Oct. 01, 2019
Property, Plant and Equipment Impairment or Disposal [Abstract]
Restaurant impairments	$ 113	$ 89	$ 2,375	$ 2,554
Closure costs	(168)	(809)	345	(675)
Loss on disposal of assets and other	424	1,056	1,263	1,761
Restaurant impairments, closure costs and asset disposals	$ 369	$ 336	$ 3,983	$ 3,640

The gains and losses included in earnings resulting from the sale or disposal of tangible assets, asset impairment charges resulting from the write down of assets from their carrying value to their fair value, and costs incurred associated with an exit or disposal activity other than for a discontinued operations. Costs of such activities include those for one-time termination benefits, termination of an operating lease or other contract, but excludes costs associated with the retirement of a long-lived asset.

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ndls_AssetDisposalsClosureCostsandRestaurantImpairments
Namespace Prefix:	ndls_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Cost Increase (Decrease) Related to Closure Cost Of Restaurants, Net Of Offsets

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ndls_CostIncreaseDecreaseRelatedToClosureCostOfRestaurantsNetOfOffsets
Namespace Prefix:	ndls_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of gain (loss) on sale or disposal of property, plant and equipment assets, including oil and gas property and timber property.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfPropertyPlantEquipment
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The aggregate amount of write-downs for impairments recognized during the period for long lived assets held for use (including those held for disposal by means other than sale).

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121586364&loc=d3e3602-108585

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109226691&loc=d3e2921-110230

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 4
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109226348&loc=d3e2420-110228

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ImpairmentOfLongLivedAssetsHeldForUse
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentImpairmentOrDisposalAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration