Cafe Zupas and Their Mysterious Owners

For several years I’ve wanted to do a story on Cafe Zupas, the successful soup-and-salad chain that was homegrown here in Utah. But I could never connect with the owners.  They declined my request for interviews, with their PR spokesman saying they preferred to be on the back burner and let their food do the talking.

I wanted to ask how they came up with the idea of fitting soup and salad into a fast-casual concept. And as a soup cookbook author, I wanted to ask about their wide variety of soups. I wanted to find out how they felt about growing one location in 26 (and counting), and what changes they made along the way.

When I was invited to take a “sneak peek” at the latest Cafe Zupas store opening in Lehi last month, I hoped I might bump into one of the owners. I didn’t really bump into Rob Seely, but an alert friend (thanks Janet!) pointed him out chatting at the table next to us. As he was leaving the table, I asked  if he was one of the owners. He had that “busted” look on his face. As we started talking, I didn’t dare turn away to grab my notebook and pen, for fear he would walk away while my back was turned. He also introduced me to partner Dustin Schulties, and that’s when I grabbed my pen and notebook to take notes.

They told me they started out without any culinary experience, other than a love of good food.  They both worked for technology companies.

“We’re just two software guys who came up with the idea when we were in MBA school together,” Seely said. “Our number one goal was to serve fresh food rather than reheated.”

But without careful quality control, the made-from-scratch approach can result in wasted food, labor and money.  Folks in the food industry warned them they

would be better off buying pre-made soups sold by restaurant suppliers.

“Our background in software helped us in creating systems for how we order, prep and use ingredients,” said Schulties. “We are able to keep the food fresh because we have a high volume, and we want to go through all the food that we prep that day.”

Chief operations officer Rick McCord said, “You get here at 7:45 in the morning, and you have data to know how much volume to expect, and how much food is on hand. If we didn’t know, we couldn’t pull it off, because our food costs would be too high. Our amount of store waste is ridiculously good. We have to have an amazing amount of quality control in order to make it a consistent experience.”

Until now, all the chopping and stirring and simmering has gone on behind the kitchen’s closed doors.  The new Lehi store has a large display window behind the counter, so customers can see into the kitchen and watch food being prepared. It’s part of the new design for future locations.

“We thought, we go to all this work to make everything fresh, and people don’t know it,” said Schulties. “We wanted to let people see for themselves, and if you want to copy us, you will have to do what we do. We feel our success is because people taste the difference.”

Café Zupas is part of the “fast casual” restaurant trend that includes Utah chains such as Café Rio, Rumbi Island Grill, and Costa Vida. They are perceived as more healthy and higher quality than fast food, while being less costly and quicker than a full-service restaurant. A 2013 Nation’s Restaurant News article cited a survey where 85 percent of the respondents said they ate at fast-casual restaurants at least once a month.

Of course, soup, salad and sandwiches have been restaurant staples for years. To me, what sets Cafe Zupas apart is the wide variety of really interesting choices, with a lot of global flavors. I also like that signature chocolate-dipped strawberry that comes with every meal. It’s a nice, upscale touch.

“Originally, our focus was really strong on soup and salads,” said Seely. “But soon after we opened, we realized sandwiches were going to be a big key.  Now our product mix is one-third salads, one-third sandwiches, and one-third soups.”

One of the first soups on the menu — Tomato Basil with Orzo Pasta — remains the most popular today. Other original soups still on the menu are New England Clam Chowder, Wild Mushroom Bisque, Wisconsin Cauliflower, Yucatan Chicken Tortilla, and Tuscan White Bean & Vegetable. A new soup is rotated into the menu each month, often with global flavors such as Peruvian White Bean & Chicken Chili or Bangkok Coconut Chicken & Shrimp.

The most popular salad is Nuts About Berries, a mix of fresh raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, cinnamon almonds, romaine lettuce and raspberry vinaigrette. In Utah, the top sandwiches are the Honey Bacon Club and Turkey Bacon Avocado.  Out of state, the BBQ pork sandwich is favored.

Recently, the menu got two new sandwiches — Cuban-Grilled Pork, and Honey-Cilantro Carnitas — as well as a Garden Chowder and Superfood Delight salad.

The chain has chosen to list name-brand suppliers such as Cox Honey of Logan, Winder Farms and Muir Copper Canyon Farms.

I asked if they had any plans to start another restaurant chain with a different concept. Rick McCord said no.  “To pull this one off and do it fast and fresh every day, it’s all we can do.”

Mystery solved. The owners of Cafe Zupas are just “two software guys” with a good idea and even better execution of it.

But, I wasn’t pushing my luck by asking them to pose for a photo. When I asked Rick McCord to pose for a photo, he said, “I’d better not. I’d probably get in trouble.”