Powered by strong marketplace demand for healthy dining options, variety and convenience, Zoup! Fresh Soup Company franchisee Maureen Harris will open her second
location in Northeast Ohio on January 17^th. The new restaurant will be located in the Montrose Centre (3900 Medina Road, Suite W.) in Montrose.

As part of its grand opening celebration, Zoup! will host a pre-opening fundraising event on Wednesday, January 16^th from 5:00 to 8:00 pm to benefit area high schools. For a $5.00 donation, guests will enjoy a bowl of soup, a big hunk of bread and a fountain drink with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the schools.

Zoup! offers the convenience of a quick, delicious and healthy meal to enjoy dining in or carrying out. Already the hottest soup spot in the metro Detroit area and a regional favorite throughout the Midwest and Northeast United States with nearly 50 restaurants in nine states, Zoup! is developing in Ohio as part of an aggressive local and international growth plan to expand its unique concept and
menu.

“We are excited to bring the Zoup! brand and culture to Akron,” said Harris, owner of Zoup! Montrose Centre.  “The wide variety of healthy choices including soups, salads and sandwiches provide a great dining alternative for our community.” Harris opened her first Zoup! franchise on Portage Street in North Canton in January, 2012.

Zoup! features hundreds of award-winning soup recipes with 12 rotating daily varieties, including low-fat, vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free options.
Menu items include low-fat soups such as Veggie Waves of Grain, Old Fashion Chicken Noodle and Frontier 7 Bean, dairy-free soups like the Mulligatawny and Sesame Noodle Bowl, vegetarian soups, including Tomato Bisque and Spicy Italian Vegetable and gluten-free options like Zesty 3 Pepper with Chicken and Ginger Butternut Squash. Customer favorites also include Chicken Pot Pie, Lobster
Bisque and Vegetarian Split Pea.

“We created Zoup! after discovering that really good soup is hard to find,” said Eric Ersher, Zoup!’s founder and managing partner. “Also, in talking to people, it became clear that there’s something special about soup and the way it elicits thoughts of family, well-being and comfort for many people.  We strive to offer authentic, hand-crafted soups that are as good – and as ‘feel-good’ – as the homemade soups our mothers and grandmothers used to cook up.”

To help customers select from the soups offered each day, Zoup! encourages sampling of the soups. The menu also includes fresh salads, toasted sandwiches and beverages.

For time-starved customers looking for a quick, nutritious meal, Zoup! offers streamlined online ordering. The online system includes a location finder, a complete menu with the day’s soups, and online catering ordering and rewards
program tracking. The catering rewards program offers customers the opportunity to earn a point for every dollar they spend on catering. Once customers reach 500 points, they will receive a $20 gift certificate.

The new restaurant will employ approximately 17 full- and part-time team members and will be open 11:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Saturday, 11:00 am to 7:00
pm on Sunday. For more information, please call 330-622-4300 or visit www.zoup.com.