Let’s start with the bad news first: When we started The Soup Mama our goal was simply to be “present” in our community. We couldn’t afford a commercial kitchen so we couldn’t obtain a business license. We sought advice from a chef who operates on donations and a tax consultant and we believed that a suggested donation for soup would be the way to go. For the past two years we have donated the donations (after we buy jars and ingredients). Turns out we may have been mistaken about the need for a business license. We certainly wouldn’t knowingly do anything illegal so we’re gonna take a little hiatus from making soup for you.
But, there’s good news, too! The Soup Daddy and I are cooking up a little KickStarter Campaign to raise money to convert the out building on our property into a small commercial kitchen. Not only would we be able to make soup for you but we’d also be able to sell soup and beverages to many of the 750,000 tourists strolling past our home every year.
Our goal with this commercial kitchen is two-fold. (1) Many of you have met our special needs daughter, Shelly. She loves delivering soup to you! (We call her our “Souper Sidekick”!) We want to provide a meaningful work situation for her. She would not only help deliver soup but she’d also be able to greet visitors to our community from the window of our little soup shack. We’re also looking forward to providing employment opportunities to our neighbors who may need it. (2) Our land lady was raised in this house. There was a fire here several years ago resulting in a big financial burden for her. She hired contractors to convert the out building into a small apartment but they only completed about 75% of the job and took off. We would love for that building to become an income producer for her. Since this building was used to sell food in the past (in the 1940′s!), we will be able to use it for the same purpose. Our Neighborhood Planning Unit is completely supportive of our plans. We need about $45,000 to make all this happen.
I will keep you posted on our progress and I’ll share some fun recipes with you here and there. There’s one thing I know for sure: Soup Buddies are really smart so please feel free to email me with any questions or suggestions.
Meet China. She’s a film student at Georgia State. Two important things about China: (1) she loves The Soup Mama and (2) she’s heading up our Kickstarter Video Project. (There are some other really cool things about China but that’s a whole ‘nother blog for a whole ‘nother time.)
