The Soup House, a downtown fixture for more than 20 years, is in its last week of business.
It will be open Tuesday through Thursday, serving bowls of Buffalo chicken on Tuesday, a new barbecue chili on Wednesday and beer cheese chowder on Thursday, among others, and then close for good.
The restaurant, at 324 E. Michigan St., usually was busy with downtown workers at lunchtime. Many offices, however, continue to have their employees work from home because of the pandemic. Downtown is such a ghost town now, said co-owner Ruby Erickson, who noted that the weekday, lunchtime business and its location in the heart of downtown relied on having those office workers nearby.
It relied heavily on downtown office workers, a scarce commodity once the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020. The restaurant regularly operated only on Tuesday through Thursday with lunchtime service.
It will continue those hours for its final week. The Soup House will offer four house-made soups Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m. Carryout and dine-in service are available.
Standard offerings of chicken and creamy tomato will be available on a rotating schedule, as will two new soups: BBQ chili (Wednesday only) and carrot coconut curry (Thursday). The popular buffalo chicken soup is available Tuesday.
You can order in-person or via phone, 414-277-7687. More information is available on The Soup House website.