FRESH EVERY DAY

Monday, June 18, 2007
By PATI LALONDE
TIMES WRITER
Although she lives on the other side of town, Linda Bowen stops by the Souper Cafe every chance she gets. ''I come in, especially when it's my time to cook,'' laughs the Hampton Township resident.

She and her Journeys Unlimited co-workers stop in for lunch at the restaurant, 4093 N. Euclid Ave., at the corner of Wilder Road. She also stops by on her way up to her parents' home in Kawkawlin and picks up take-out. And, she sometimes picks up 12 to 15 different frozen soups for out-of-town trips.

Her favorites from the menu include Kickin' Crab Soup, the Georgia Reuben, the Greek salad and Fondoodles, the little cheesecakes that are one of the restaurant's specialties.

''Everything is so fresh,'' she said of the Souper Cafe fare. Totally fresh ingredients is exactly what Chad Wohlford was aiming for when he opened the restaurant a year ago. Everything is made fresh on the premises every day.

Opening a restaurant that serves soup, salad and sandwiches has been a dream of Wohlford's for quite some time.

The Saginaw resident comes by his interest naturally. His mother, Sherry Wohlford of Fenton, has owned a catering business for the past 30 years. Armed with her recipes, which were a pinch of this and that, Wohlford decided to get his dream off the ground.

''He wanted to have his own business,'' Sherry Wohlford said. ''I really kind of frowned on it. He didn't know how much work it is, but he wanted to do this.''

She jumped on the bandwagon and began shipping 500 pounds of soups to the Bangor Township restaurant last June - a temporary arrangement until Wohlford began making the soups himself. He taste-tested and wrote down ingredients until he had the taste he wanted.

''In the beginning, I did all the cooking,'' Wohlford said. ''Now I have my own recipes. My mom does it by taste, I came up with amounts. But the recipes are all mom. Without her, I would have a hot dog stand, maybe.''

The work paid off. Offered every day are piping hot soups of many flavors: lobster bisque, potato bacon chowder, Baja chicken enchilada, chicken noodle, broccoli cheddar, chili, and Bowen's top choice, Kickin' Crab. One soup is added each day for soup of the day.

''When I first opened I had four soups that rotated,'' he said. ''We can't do that anymore; people have their favorites that you need every day.''

Soups come in cups, bowls or bread bowls.
Soups are $2.49-$2.99 a cup or $3.49-$3.99 a bowl, depending on the type of soup.
For those who want to stock up, soups are also frozen and can be purchased for $2.99 each.
Bread bowls are $1.99 extra.

Although it's called Souper Cafe, the sandwiches, salads and those Fondoodles have become hits as well.

The restaurant offers three kinds of wraps along with a deli bar that allows customers to make up their own sandwiches. Six different kinds of meats can be topped with basil, Southwest chipotle, roasted red bell pepper and tomato garlic pestos, as well as bistro sauce and mayonnaise and mustard.

Sandwiches and wraps are $3.79 for a half, $5.99 for a full-size.

A variety of salads, including a mandarin, gorgonzola, Oriental, Caesar, Greek and garden, can all be topped with grilled chicken as well as homemade dressing. Customers who enjoy the raspberry or balsamic vinaigrette, orange poppyseed, Caesar ranch, Greek, French and garlic salad dressings can take home a pint.

Salads are $3.29 for a half and $5.49 for a full-size.

To catch the dinner crowd, the menu has been expanded to include pasta dishes after 4 p.m. Diners who stop by after that time can choose their own pasta - spaghetti, linguini and gemelli - and sauce - marinara, lobster alfredo, carbonara, marsala, gorgonzola, Thai curry and roasted red pepper. Kids can dish up macaroni and cheese.

Speaking of kids, they have their own menu, which includes an eight-ounce soup, a grilled cheese or a grilled peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich with a bag of chips and a small pop for $3.49.

Let's not forget dessert. The Fondoodles are Sherry Wohlford's own concoction. The sweet treats come in almond joy, peanut butter, lemon, chocolate truffle, turtle, raspberry and cherry. They are all dipped in chocolate.

The restaurant offers catering for business luncheons and small parties, and deliveries are limited but available.

While some may think the restaurant is a chain because of its high-tech graphics and colors, it isn't. But Wohlford hopes to some day start up another Souper Cafe on Bay City's East Side.

But in the meantime, he says he's concentrating on making sure his customers get the best meal and service he can offer.

''What makes me happy is having people try the food and love it,'' he said. ''And having them appreciate what we do and the extra steps we take to make it good.''

- Pati LaLonde is a features writer for The Times. She can be reached at 894-9666, or by e-mail at plalonde@bc-times.com.