Ugly Noodle pasta deli set to open in Geneva

Ugly Noodle, a new Geneva business, will celebrate their grand opening on Friday, December 1.

Located west of Randall Road at 2600 Keslinger in Suite 15, Ugly Noodle makes gluten-free, vegan fresh pasta from brown rice and sorghum flours. According to the news release, it tastes just like a wheat noodle while staying free from the top 14 common food allergens.

Visitors can stop in to shop bespoke gluten-free and allergen-friendly grocery products and more in-store. Ugly Noodle fresh pasta cooks in 90 seconds. Plus, you can buy fresh, dried or frozen pasta and plenty of other dinner items at Ugly Noodle’s pasta deli.

This woman-owned business is run by Geneva local Lauren McLauchlan, who moved back to the Chicagoland area in 2020 to start Ugly Noodle. During the last three years, she also began a 501c3 called Ugly Noodle Community Initiative (UNCI) which solely works on urban food growing efforts in Chicago.

Partnered with the Chicago Park Foundation and The Love Fridges in Chicago, UNCI is funded through donations to build, maintain, grow and distribute locally grown foods in food-insecure areas of Chicago. Current studies show that 12 million children experience hunger daily in America. McLauchlan’s passion for providing financial assistance to food gardens stems from her personal experience living in a food desert while using the USDA food stamps program.

Ugly Noodle ships dried pasta anywhere in the USA. You can order pasta online and learn more about UNCI at www.uglynood.com. You can follow Ugly Noodle on Instagram @uglynoodle.

The Ugly Noodle Grand Opening celebration is happening Friday, December 1 at noon 2600 Keslinger Road Suite 15 in Geneva. The store will be closed December 2, then re-open for normal business hours on December 3. Locals are invited to join them to celebrate with drinks and snacks. 

Store hours: Wednesday – Sunday from 10AM-6PM.

Source: Geneva Chamber of Commerce