Needham DRB approves Noodle Doodles sign with sizing adjustment

The Needham Design Review Board on Jan. 13 approved a channel-letter wall sign for Noodle Doodles, a ramen restaurant planning a Needham location, with a condition that the applicant adjust the composition so the ramen-bowl graphic and the "Noodle Doodles" text are the same height and the entire sign is centered to provide more visual breathing room.

Ray, the restaurant owner, described the business as a startup brand with two existing Boston locations and said the proposed sign would be an aluminum channel-letter sign mounted above the storefront. Felix Semmel asked whether the sign complied with the local square-footage allowance; board members said it appeared to fall within size limits though final verification would be done by the Building Department.

Board members suggested a small typographic and logo adjustment so the wordmark would read more clearly at distance. Millie, a Design Review Board member, proposed reducing the bowl graphic slightly and enlarging the text; board members and the applicant discussed specific dimensions. The applicant’s sign vendor had provided dimensions in the packet and participants noted the current graphic height at "15.32" and the text at "12.42" (units as provided by the applicant). The board’s approval required the applicant to revise the artwork so the graphic height is close to the text height and recenters the sign layout; the applicant agreed to have their sign vendor submit the adjusted artwork to the DRB staff for review.

Action: Steve Dornbusch moved to approve the sign subject to the graphic adjustment and centering; Millie seconded. The roll-call vote recorded Millie yes and Felix Semmel yes; the motion passed. The board instructed the applicant to have the sign vendor resubmit the adjusted art to staff and to follow the Building Department’s permitting process.