Zoup! Heads West with Six Denver-Area Franchises

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Fast-Casual Soup Restaurant Concept Will Cater to Local Appetites for Healthy Dining

March 21, 2011 // Franchising.com // SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – As consumers continue to seek fresh, healthy dining options for their on-the-go lifestyles, Zoup! Fresh Soup Company is stirring the pot in Denver with plans to open six restaurants in the next five years. The first will open in May 2011 at the Sheraton Hotel in Denver, located at 1550 Court Place. The second location is slated to open in June at 9672 E. Arapahoe Road in Greenwood Village.

The owners of the new Zoup! restaurants, Matt Garrett and Tim McKennie, have signed agreements to open three Zoup! locations each. After discovering the concept in other cities, the two became passionate about it and decided it was a great business opportunity and a great fit for the Denver market.

"The growing number of diners in Denver seeking convenient, healthy meal options makes this market an ideal place for Zoup!," says Garrett. "We are confident that Denver's mix of active business professionals, families and students will welcome Zoup!'s diverse menu and casual, upscale setting." McKennie adds, "What appealed to us was that whether you are on-the-run or have time for a sit-down meal, Zoup! caters to everyone's preferences and leaves customers feeling good about the meal they just ate."

Zoup! features hundreds of award-winning soups with 12 rotating daily varieties, including low-fat, vegetarian, dairy-free, low-points and gluten-free options. According to Zoup!'s Founder and Managing Partner, Eric Ersher, "We created Zoup! after discovering that really good soup is hard to find. 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."

Zoup!'s "Something for Everyone" nutritional offerings 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, low-points options such as Spicy Black Bean Chili and Wild Mushroom Barley and gluten-free choices such like the Tomato Spinach and Brown Rice. Customer favorites also include Chicken Pot Pie, Lobster Bisque and Vegetarian Split Pea.

To help customers select from the soups offered each day, Zoup! encourages sampling. "It's one of the most important and most fun things we offer at Zoup!," says Ersher. "We want our customers to try our soups before ordering because we want to be sure that they always enjoy their meal." Prices range from $4.65 to $6.95 for a bowl of soup. The menu also includes fresh, made-to-order GreenZ! Salads, grilled and rolled SandwicheZ! and an array of baked goods 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.

For more information about Zoup!, visit www.zoup.com.

About Zoup!

Founded in 1998, Zoup! is the leading fast-casual soup concept restaurant that is defining the category with its premium and proprietary soups and other recipes. A dining experience that features 12 always-rotating soup varieties each day in an environment that focuses on comfort, satisfaction and convenience, Zoup! has grown its network of franchises to 30 restaurants throughout Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois. For more information, visit www.zoup.com.

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