As Hale and Hearty Founders Return to Soup, New Spots Enter the Bowl

In 1990, Hale and Hearty opened with a simple mission: affordable soups in a variety of options. That was five years before Seinfeld aired its “Soup Nazi” sketch, based on the Original Soup Man in Midtown, with its infamous owner making it a tourist destination. As Hale & Hearty became a homegrown chain, it was synonymous with lunch options for office workers.

While soup never really goes out of style, it’s certainly seeing a comeback.

Next month, Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper, the chain’s founders (who exited Hale and Hearty years before it shut down in 2022) are opening Schnipper’s Quality Soups in their original Hale and Hearty headquarters at 849 Lexington Avenue, near East 64th Street on the Upper East Side.

The restaurant opening coincides with several new soup spots that are also filling the bowl-shaped hole.

As for Schnipper’s Quality Soups, it will be similar in format to its predecessor: “We are building a soup restaurant. We sell soup and things that go well with soup,” says Andrew Schnipper. The restaurant will offer about six soups — he’s especially excited about an alphabet option — as well as rotating specials. “Listen, we’ve always loved soup — my brother just has a knack for making unbelievable soup,” says Andrew Schnipper, who is also a partner in Hamburger America.

As times have changed, so have palates: Schnipper says they’re more attuned to dietary restrictions and flavor profiles meeting the moment. “Gluten wasn’t a consideration in the same way the ’90s — but soup lends itself really well to gluten-free.” He points to the explosion of bowl spots and hunger for comfort making it the right moment to circle back, especially as office attendance has mostly returned post-pandemic.

While Hale and Hearty is back from bankruptcy by new owners, it’s focused on pre-packaged containers for supermarkets. A takeout window opened at its Bushwick factory this month, a far cry from the Midtown lunch rush.

Over on the Lower East Side, Russell Markus, a chef known for his Hot Soup pop-ups, started a walk-up soup counter in the old Scarr’s this week, in collaboration with Reid Webster of the pizza pop-up Bad Larry’s, who is making sandwiches. Now, Markus can stay put for a bit and use it as an R&D kitchen. Earlier this year, Vogue referred to Markus and Brooklyn’s Soup Doula, as “suddenly making soup cool.” “I just wanted a flavorful, simple pop-up so I could feed as many people in as short a time as possible — as it turns out, more people love soup than I could ever imagine,” says Markus. “As a creative, I’ve come up with some convoluted concepts over the years, but three-year-olds understand soup: It transcends age and hype.”

Sandwich and soup deals that once used to be given in the Manhattan lunch fray have become a rarity. Their collaborative stand is open during lunch for the next couple of months at 22 Orchard Street. It offers a combo deal for $20 for options like red lentil with celery root, chicken broth with yuzu kosho; and sandwiches like a chicken salad made with fish sauce.

“There was a time when you could get lunch for $12. The price of everything has skyrocketed; now you can go for lunch if you can afford to go for lunch, and it’s outrageous,” says Markus.

Olive’s in Soho also fronts a half-sandwich and soup deal ($19) and is expanding to Tribeca soon. “Our soup guy comes in at 3 a.m. to make the two soups of the day,” co-owner Nick Hartman told Tribeca Citizen.

For Tiffany Iung, the decision to open Chomps Élysées as a soup stand happened accidentally. Taking over the former Peasant Stock stand in Essex Market, which had a loyal following, she was urged by market management to remain a soup vendor. “They called it the soup gap,” she says. Her sandwich plan took a back seat. The fact that she had a turnkey operation with the right equipment made the choice straightforward.

She has certainly added her personal touches. The stand now feels like an extension of Iung’s home, outfitted with a corn fridge magnet and a smiley face lamp. She sells several soups that change daily with recipes adapted from cookbooks and recipe developers like Alison Roman.

“We try to keep our prices really reasonable,” says Iung who is as warm as her soups. A small, 12-ounce is priced at $7.50, and a large hunk of homemade focaccia or cornbread costs a couple of dollars extra. She has developed a loyal fanbase at Chomps, including neighborhood workers like local school teachers. “When they’re closed for the holiday, we feel the difference,” she says.

For any soup business, seasonality is always a concern: That’s the angle of Brix House, an ice cream shop in Park Slope and Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Returning for a second year, Locanda Verde and Maialino alum Tara Glick’s dessert spot has flipped into a winter soup pop-up, serving mainstays like Italian wedding.

Still, Schnipper says, “Hot soups will always outsell the cold soups in the summer: Chicken noodle soup is a number one, 12 months a year.” Nevertheless, they are adding items like smoothies to seasonally mitigate.

He adds: “Soup in this location is personal to us — it’s how I met my wife, and my brother is literally going to be standing back where he was making soups 30 years ago.”

Schnipper’s Quality Soups