Lunch Was Slammin'!

Lunch was really busy today. "Zinger"is on vacation for the next few days so "Little Miss Responisble" came in after her exams to ring for us. She was wiped out after lunch. "Trouble" asked her if it was like that on the weekends and she just shook her head no...lol I hope everyone was happy with their orders today. We really tried to turn things over quickly...I know we had two minor issues but unfortunately things happen.

We are working with a friend to fine tune our system...He has helped us organize things and get an effective closing system in place. Now we need a system that runs smoothly with the rush that comes in...How does that work? Did I mention that "Big Brother" was a truck driver before this...no food experience what so ever??? I have a year or two under my belt but I still need work....So again, its a working progress.

I have decided that once the credit cards are up and running is when we are going to do our grand opening shin-dig! We have to do something soon....we also have to advertise because we rteally haven't done that either...Just the church bulletins....

I am hoping that we have something a little different than most places....We are all family at the store and we grew up here in the area. The sandwiches need to be fine tuned but we really try to give a little extra, besides it shold feel like home! We make all of our soups from scratch....broth and all!Plus, we are really trying to stay competive to other places with our pricing...I guess I have to accept that we cannot please everyone even though I want to!

The hours are still up in the air. We need to see how many people stop in befoer 7am. Maybe we can open at 7 on the weekends and not 6!!!! That would be good, I really don't like getting up at 4am everyday!!!! ugh!!!

Speaking of 4am, I am off to shower and bed.....i have a lot to share with all of you but I am tired today!!!! Check in tomoorw!!! Happy soup!

More Hours?

The last few days have been steady but calm....All of the "Little People" worked on Monday for the holiday which was fun..."Trouble", our griddle girl had a good day with them...We have a new sandwich chick..She rocks out some awesome sandwiches and she does it quick! Loving it!

The week has been quiet for the most part but steady. I have been able to catch up with the soups and"Big Brother" is beginning to find his routine in the store. All good things. I finally made Winter Squash today. Not much of it but it is made!!! It was challenging...only because I really didn't want to make it...its a lot of work.

It was busy tonight. We had a very nice crowd in that had no issues with the minor wait for things. We did have a request last night and tonight to stay open until 8pm....More Hours! We already arrive at 4:30am and sometimes don't leave til 9pm.. I don't know if I could handle extra hours...It does make sense to be open til 8pm during the winter...It will take some work on my end to talk"Big Brother" into it! This whole morning thing is not so much fun...the 4am wake up call was one reason why I never finished nursing school...who knew I would be back to that in this lifetime.

I was told by the software people that I should have credit cards up and running by the end of this week so we will see what Friday brings us! Let's all hope for credit!

Everyone seems to be catching on to the routine for getting orders filled and picking up the passe at the same time. With time we should be able to rock everything out super fast without any errors..Maybe we can come up with a song to sing while we do our job like Cold Stone Creamery!! Where we lived in Florida when you gave them tips they sang to you! It was Awesome!

We are learning that we need to cut some costs at the store so we can get ahead, some being labor costs and others being food cost. Thank God we have someone to help us organize that stuff! (Yes, its a family member) Hey someone has to do it and we do not have time to look at all that stuff right now! Besides, he is great with numbers and then I get to see her! Even better....

I do miss my Florida friend very much! I haven't even had time to call her but I think of her every day just like a few of my other friends!!! Love you all and miss you all very much!!!! Well we will sum things up tomorrow...off to shower and bed so we can start over again! Good luck with the weather!!!!

Let's get a Handle on Things!

We are trying to get a handle on things at the store....We need to maintain a consistent system with services and quality. That is the focus for this week. I want everyone happy. Yes I know that is challenging but I can try. We need to cut back on labor...there a few little people that can exit...sorry to say. There was way too much standing around on Saturday...not necessary! We have a system its just sticking to it now! Everyone gets crazy when a mad rush of people show up...no worries...take a little time and do it right and everyone is happy! My brain is spinning with ways to make this work...I have to figure out how to get everyone on board now!

Soups are almost caught up to the point that I can make the Butternut Squash....I know, I have been saying that for a week now! My goal is for Tuesday!!! I am off to bed so I can start bright and early tomorrow!!! See ya then!

I am dreaming of soup...

There is soup everywhere I turn... I make so much soup I am dreaming about it. Today was another crazy day at the store. We have a few new team members, the jury is still out on some of them but everyone seems to be getting along. We have a lot of labor which I don't think is necessary but we will see how that goes for now.....Food is crazy as usual.

"Zinger" had an interesting day in the front today...stories from every direction keeping things very entertaining..Sorry that I was stuck in the kitchen. The night rush was a little messy tonight which wasn't expected. Usually things run smooth but something was off...I wonder who it was?

I need to sleep 4:30 comes too soon!!! See ya in the morning!

We Have A Special...

We have made some progress...We have Chicken Corn Chowder as a special right now...If I am lucky I can rock out Butter Nut Squash for Friday. And yes, still trying to keep up with the demand for soup!!! In one pot, out of the other, in another pot, and sometimes three going at once!! Its a little crazy, but a good crazy I guess....So yes we are a little tired but it seems to be working out. "Big Brother" is hanging tough with all of these mad hours that we are putting in and we are starting to come up with some cool nick names for everyone! Loving that!

We have this cute, quiet girl on the register...she is so sweet and just all around nice. Well, her new name is "Zinger"..She cracks me up. We can start chatting about something and someone will make a wise crack and then out of no where comes a "Zinger" of a crack from her...yes that is how she got her new name! Our "Griddle Girl" needs a cool name. She is fun and always full of positive energy which is a great compliment to all of us..No we are not always nice to each other, well at least me and "Big Brother" aren't always nice to each other. I don't think he feels loved unless he gets is daily, "your an idiot" comment from me. Its all said with love, no worries. We also have a young man who has joined our team, we call him "Skywalker"...just because we can and we like it...My niece, well everyone wants to call her "Sarg" because she keeps everyone in line....The jury is still out on that one, I like "Chickie". My nephew who works the griddle, we call him "Crash" but I think that I mentioned that already. We work so much that I forget what I have talked about lately. lol

The family is holding down the fort while I am gone all day....and I mean all day...430am to at least 830pm....Crazy! "The Soup King" has been doing the wash and I came home to a cleaned kitchen tonight, it was great! I knew I would get him to clean one way or another. Now if he would just do the bathrooms!!!

So I am off to bed so I can rise ever so early to make the soup...We feel like that donut guy on the commercials from years ago....time to make the soup......

Stop in and check us out...we even have WiFi at the store!!! See ya soon! Stay warm.....

Soup, Soup, and More Soup!

What else can we say except that we are sorry for the delay in turning soups out for you! We are trying to keep them all in stock but we never thought that we would get hit so hard so fast for orders. The kinks are slowly working themselves out right now. I have figured out how to maintain a constant flow of the soups but now I have to work in the specials. If I could stay out in the back and not help out front...it would be a done deal. Again, we never thought the demand would be so high so fast...

"Big Brother" is pushing along trying to keep everyone smiling when they walk through the door. We just ask that everyone understand that we want your food to be just right. We are trying to fill orders in a timely fashion but we are also trying to prevent errors. We are finding that orders are taking up to 10 minutes to fill and no, I am not happy about that but hot sandwiches take a little longer than prepping soup...We a have an idea for a system it is just getting the system followed that is a bit of a challenge. Sometimes I climb under my rep table in the back and hide!!! lol..(just kidding) We want our first impression to be a great one but we are not perfect so we can only try our best to please and satisfy everyone. If there is anything that needs to be changed feel free ti let us know but only if you are going to smile while telling us...no grumpy ones please...

I haven't figured out nick names yet, I don't think that I remember my own name at this point..maybe in the next week or so something will hit me. "Little Miss Responsible" has made a request for a name change to "Lead Foot" but I don't think so...My niece, well that should be an easy one...but I am drawing a blank..."Chickie" seems to stick in my mind since always say "hey Chickie" when I see her...I wonder what she will say about that?

So here is a run down of our soups...Broccoli and Cheese, Vegetable, Chicken Noodle, New England Clam Chowder, Potato and Ham, Split Pea and and Ham, Seafood Gumbo, Spicy South Western Black Bean, Cream of Chicken and Mushroom, and Tomato Basil. We are bringing you RedHouse Bagels so you know they are good just in another location! Breakfast sandwiches, Hoagies, and other sandwiches....We have not ventured into the wraps yet...I am very afraid of them!!! We also have salads to offer, Garden Caesar, Mandarin and Chef....Our brownies are awesome, chocolate chip cookies made from scratch and by the weekend we should have homemade toffee butter cake!!! IT is awesome!!!!!! We can be reached at 215-245-SOUP(7687) Remember to just hang in there with us and hopefully over the next few weeks we have it down like a science!!! Thanks for giving us a try and we hope you keep coming back and to remember, if we aren't laughing behind the counter then we would be crying under my prep table!!! Have a great Monday everyone!

The Store is Rockin'

"Big Brother" and I are exhausted along with all of our family members!!! Things are crazy...we have not been able to keep our soups in the kettles this week! I guess that is a good thing. We have a few hires outside of the family and they are working out pretty well so far. Only one misfit but things happen. We have "What-What", a family friend who says "what" every time you say something to her. Interesting. "Crash" is a nephew who works like a champ and loves to greet and meet everyone! I am still working on some names for the others that have joined our forces...it takes time...They need to fit them just right. lol...

We were taken by surprise when our numbers continues to rise all week long. All week long we thought it was just luck but the doors keep opening and everyone keeps asking for more. Today was the day that I was able to finally catch up and get every soup made. Still have two to do in the morning but way easy ones!

We are still working on finding our rhythm to make things quick for our guests but still the best. I truly believe that quality makes a difference. I want everyone leaving so full and satisfied that they need to go home and nap....

"Big Brother" and I have put in mad hours this week along with our niece who just rocked out at the store keeping everything and everyone in check when she was on the line! Love it!! It will be upsetting when she starts classes on Thursday! Agh!

So stop in, yes our credits are still not functional but that is a working progress as well. But we have great food and lots of smiles to help you through your day. A little patience is all we ask for right now and remember we will make it worth the wait!!! Thanks for supporting us!!! See ya soon!

Open! Open! Open!

So yes we are finally opened!!! Not our grand opening just a soft one to work out all o the bugs but open! Sunday was our first day and it was very busy and a little crazy...I would have to say that for everyone not really knowing what to do it wasn't that bad. "Drama" has been working her butt off baking and cooking soups and cleaning to get ready. She is awesome at multi-tasking! "Big Brother" is doing ok but I think he gets a little frazzled like everyone else. Yes, I think I have the answers but, I am the little sister so it takes awhile for everyone to hear or see me! If it doesn't happen soon i will through a tantrum and then they will all hear and see me! lol....Training is a little under par but we need to work out the best system we can think of so...hopefully by Friday we have it.

There are many soups to be made again..That is always good...I just need to be left in the kitchen to make that happen! I can't wait to see how things go when we advertise that we are open! Hopefully everyone gives us a chance to get it right a second time if it doesn't happen the first time. We are trying! I have some ideas of what needs to happen I just need to chat with "Big Brother". All of the family is working with us...My "Little Ones", my sister's daughter, my other sister's son...it is so much fun!!! I love hanging with them all the time! Now I just need nick names for them. Our new cook is great...she is way on top of her game...just working on the specifics now and we will be golden! Our cashier is nervous, she will get it, she just needs some time. "Big Brother", well what can I say, "WTF Chuck"!!!! I think that should be his new nick name.

We had friends stop in and help out and we appreciate all of the help...Thursday after getting out U/O we had a lot of people stop in and some jumped right in to help get started....Thanks!!!!
Thursday was so interesting...if everyone only new!!!!What a laugh now!!!

"Big Brother" is running around trying to do everything and he needs to slow done...and take a step back so he can see what is really needed....I just need to cook! So please, leave me in the kitchen!!!!!!! Seafood Gumbo should be done for lunch along with New England Clam Chowder and more Cream of Chicken and Mushroom. By dinner I should have Chicken Corn Chowder done too!!!

I miss my babies.....I liked being a stay at home mom.....running with the babies and all that jazz..What was I thinking? Who knows,the mornings are tough..but It will be worth it!!!!! Stop in and visit, its my new home!!!