Rick Ford and Bob Bardorf
The Soup Kitchen restaurant, known for its home-style touch and made from scratch, always fresh cuisine, has named Chattanooga as a priority city for its 2013 franchise development plan to open multiple franchise locations in the Middle and East Tennessee region.
“There’s no question The Soup Kitchen would do incredibly well in Chattanooga,” said The Soup Kitchen owner and founder, Bob Bardorf. “The city’s a perfect target market with a booming business sector. Not only do folks here crave healthy and delicious cuisine but they have a deep love for the kind of downhome cooking we’re known for.”
Founded in 1980, The Soup Kitchen offers a heart healthy choice to routine fast-food restaurants with a huge selection of delicious soups, fresh homemade bread, sandwiches, salad plates, drinks and desserts. At least seven savory soups are served daily from over 150 chef-inspired recipes and vary day to day. Offerings include items such as Peruvian Shrimp Chowder, Snow Crab, Chicken Pot Pie, Sherried Tomato, and Little Italy as well as homemade mainstays—Hearty Vegetable and Chili. Other menu items include sandwiches made with the freshest of deli meats, produce, cheeses and homemade breads along with crisp, heart healthy salads.
“Loyal customers and businesses have made us who we are,” said Mr. Bardorf. “We’ve been in this business for over 30 years and have had incredible success because of the way we treat people. It’s like when friends and family come to visit your home. That’s the same way it is with us. We love to see our guests and make it our passion to offer only the freshest, made to order food to keep them coming back for more.”
The Soup Kitchen franchise is being positioned as a fast casual soup and salad concept, with a footprint of about 2000-3000 square feet or less depending on accommodations. Top features include catering capabilities to boost revenue, as well as an optional food truck feature that can conveniently service local businesses for lunch. To help market and franchise the brand nationally, The Soup Kitchen has teamed up with an international franchising firm from Tulsa, targeting potential rich cities such as Chattanooga to capitalize on the booming market growth in the area as well as the affordability of the local business climate.
“Chattanooga would be a great step toward growing our brand in Tennessee,” said Mr. Bardorf. “We’re very excited about the possibilities and believe this is the perfect time to win new hearts with our own brand of excellence and quality cuisine.”