A Note From Donna: How Soup Up Came To Be

So, how long have you been making soups?

Why did you decide to start a soup company?

I’m asked those questions too often and – to be honest – I wish my answers were “souper” sexy and dramatic. The truth is, I neither got fiercely ill and soup brought me back to good health nor attended some prestigious culinary arts school to become a soup alchemist. 

I just simply love making soups - I do! I analyze, strategize, and even fantasize about making soups — I am, after all, a communications strategist by trade. I research the various spices, herbs, and exotic foods and how they pair together to achieve specific palates. I also hold focus groups — a habit I suppose — to taste my creations. I enjoy turning pots of boiling water into extraordinary soups and then seeing the smile on the face of every sipster who has given my soups a chance. 

So, I have not been making soups all my life. I have, however, been stewing the complexity of soups — even to the simplest broth — for as long as I can remember. And, after many trips to return high-sodium, not-so-good-tasting soups to local grocery stores, I decided to open my own soup bar, Soup Up, LLC. I want fellow local foodies to fall in love with soups all over again— the aroma, the texture, the taste, the calming effect... the insatiable appetite for something that has been proven good for the body and the soul. I want everyone to experience the soups I had as a child in Jamaica. There are so many unique, awesome-tasting, healthy, low-sodium soups I have ready to share with you and your family. I have infused, imbued, and perfected more than 175 soups that I rotate on a weekly basis at my location in the District. So stop by and try some. I’m so convinced you will fall in love with Soup Up and our delicious soups!