Zoup! Fresh Soup Co. will open its first Central Illinois location at 115 Krispy Kreme Drive, Suite 1, in mid- to late February.
The cornerstone of the menu will be 12 daily varieties of soup, including low-fat, vegetarian, dairy-free and spicy options. Two will be standing items, chicken potpie soup and lobster bisque, while the rest will rotate from 100 different soups, said co-owner Todd Ashley of Washington, who is starting the franchise with his father, Ray Ashley, also of Washington.
Other examples of Zoup soups are vegetarian split pea, seafood chowder, twice-baked stuffed potato, mulligatawny, cheeseburger royale, Cajun chicken and sausage gumbo, and ginger butternut squash.
Soups have no MSG and no trans fats.
The menu will also include salads and sandwiches, Ashley said, with a typical meal priced at $7-$10.
Ashley has 10 years of experience in the restaurant industry while his father, retired from Parsons Manufacturing in Roanoke, has an accounting background. They thought a venture like this would combine their skills.
"The concept was like no other I'd seen in fast-casual dining," he said of the Michigan-based chain that started in 1997. It now has nearly 50 restaurants in nine states.
Ashley said he and his father also looked at sites in the Peoria area, but none compared to the east Bloomington location near Washington Street and Veterans Parkway they acquired.
Hours for the business will be from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, he said.
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