The issues with the franchisor are much deeper than it appears.
1. The company is undercapitalized. An investment bank retained to raise capital for the franchisor had discontinued its efforts after having received commitments for approximately 25% of the targeted capital. This was a result of the poor operating results of the company and its underlying franchisees.
2. The company has been seeking an acquiror of its operations. Throughout this effort the issues and challenges brought to the attention of the company by its franchisees have been quietly addressed but none of the problems have been resolved.
3. The misrepresentations made by the franchisor to induce franchisees to acquire territories and open up an Original Soupman outlet are many: (a) understatement of food costs; (b) co-branding with Cremalita ice cream to balance overall sales in warm months was abandoned soon after first 12 stores opened for business; (c) mandated use of cups and bowls that are 25% larger than purported serving portions, resulting in giving away 25% more product than consumer was paying for and at the same time causing an increase in purchases of product from the company to replenish inventory.

The cost of his soups are so expensive that he can not possibly attrack repeat customers in most cities...even those with high per capita income! You don't pay that for a bowl of soup in a 5 star restaurant!!! I went once and not again. (I tried the new location in Estero,Fl) As good as my "sample" was..it is only soup...WATER and very small amounts of veggies, herbs, flavorings, etc. The ingredients are not that costly! Even I can make a delicious soup cheaply. Would you like my recipe for "Stone Soup"??

I had the opportunity to visit Mr. Yeganeh's oroginal location in Manhattan - a tiny little place - after reading about it in "The New York Times Cookbook" by Molly O'Neil. (Great book.) His soup was not, at the time, that expensive, but it was absolutely wonderful stuff. I wish that he was still there; just a crochety guy selling soup to die for, instead of trying to make a franchise out of it. Seems that it's lost its uniqueness now; just another chain.

...New-York-worthy prices, such as $7 for a 12-ounce container of soup or $11 for 12 ounces...

Can you explain the math? For $7 you get a 12-ounce container of soup and for $11 you just get the soup? Is it $.58/ounce or $.92/ounce?

Prices are ridiculous, and franchises are as franchises do!! They expect almost half the profits, you have to use their suppliers for ingredients and whenever they decide to change the store's decor - the franchise owner has to "foot the bill"!! I LOVE good soup but $7 for a few mouthfulls is just ridiculous - especially if you don't even get to sit down to eat it in NYC!!!

i am a new yorker, dining in many of the fine restaurants in the city. also i eat fast foods for luch daily. the 55st original location was over the top excellent and worth every penny. today i go to 42nd st. once every 3 months only if i am in front of the location and very hungry.

there's more to making soup than throwing some ingredients in a pot...

Beth, just one comment. It's 'No soup for you!'

Costs of production don't have a lot to do with sale price. Look at the cost of brand name sunglasses for an example of this. You're paying for the brand, not the COGS.

Hey Soup Man,

I hope you will take this advice and stop squandering your money.

First, to open 40 restaurants cost you a few million dollars.

Please sell most of them to re-coupe your money and then carefully adhere to this advice.

Go to a cannery of your choice (Cambell, Franco, Chunky, etc) with your recipes and get a LICENSING AGREEMENT with these companies that are much bigger than you and sell this soup to the masses.

I hope you can take this feasible course of action and run with it. I'd like to see your product on the shelves out here in Las Vegas. I can help you if you don't mind a Black Man helping.

prophetessygreen@aol.com
1-702-638-1917

ANYBODY KNOW WHY HE REFUSED SERVICE TO COSTANZA AND BENES?(WHOEVER THEY ARE).I LIKED THE CO. NAME BUT IF THE GUY IS A STIFF THEN HE DESERVES TO GO OUT OF BUSSINES.

Jack Mason! You are accurate...would love to know how you know so much. Soupman is comparable to Ponzi...misrepresent, sell, operator's lose their life savings, and the cycle continues. The investment bank is still involved...perhaps they have an employee who is taking from the top? Don't understand how they have not cut off Soupman. Every other week a new President appears as the Savior, then within a week he quietly leaves. One guy the Primo Goomba has his family on the board and on payroll. Interesting, he and his family continue to collect paychecks while the Franchisees lose their life savings, homes and file for Bankruptcy. There were never 40 locations. At the most, it was 33 and the company never disclosed the store closings, instead they continue to list them as active, or "closed for renovation" so to create the perception that they exist. The Government should investigate these guys.

Hopefully they will get exposed!

Jack Mason, I would love to know how you know so much about the company. I must say you are Quite Accurate in everything you stated! The Franchisees lost an exhorbitant amount of $$ collectively -- somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 Million! The misrepresentations are too many to list. The company is still selling with false information, and each of the company employees are collecting paychecks. In fact, the Primary Goomba has his family on the payroll and he is in the driver's seat, deceiving everyone and taking their last dime.

What a shame!

DOES ANYONE KNOW THE BRANDNAME OF THE HANDBAG/BACKPACK/PURSE OF ELAINE BENES?

THANKS.

The original location was great. Part of the enjoyment of the soup came from waiting on line in the cold and finally getting up to the front of the line and seeing what varieties were left and then getting to eat that hot very delicious homemade soup. The rest of the enjoyment came from the great soup that he made. However, I did try the soup at the franchised locations and they were nothing like the soup you got at the original location. I'm sure it was made differenty and like the supermarket Soup Man soups, had chemicals and preservatives. I hope he re-opens the original location or something similar and makes the soup himself again. I'd be there with my $20 for the quart of Crab Bisque (mostly seafood, just some soup- unlike the supermarket/franchised soup.) COME BACK AL!!

Noreen..did you ever find the name of elaines back pack purse..Im interested also

val

I too want to know the name of Elaine's purse!!! Been looking for a long time! Thanks!

Did you ever find the name of Elain'es purse in the soup nazi? Been looking for a long time

Kristy if you ever find out let me know..my email in val6222optonline.net..I've been looking a long time too..I cant figure out what the symbol is on her purse..if its a duck it might be an old Dooney and Bourke

thanks

val