Struggling to stay in business during a pandemic, Jessica Hazan may have found a way to strengthen her business for the long run.
Hazan owns and runs the Soup Girl, a storefront business on Whitney Avenue in Hamden.
Before Covid-19 pandemic hit, the business operated as self-serve. Only once a week customers could get the soup delivered: they could place pre-orders at the start of the week to be delivered to them on Thursdays.
Curbside pick-up order.
Struggling to stay in business, Hazan and her staff of four have now been offering contactless delivery and curbside pickup throughout the week.
Meanwhile, the store allows in one take-out customer to place an order, then to wait outside for it to be handed out.
“You wouldn’t think anything positive would come out of something like this, but this has helped show us that we can manage more delivery days, and I hope to in the future,” Hazan said.
A month ago Hazan placed an order for a hand sanitizer machine to mount in the shop. “If I had placed the order a day later I probably wouldn’t have gotten it, and it’d be harder than it is now,” she said.
The staff serves wearing masks and gloves. The shop is now open for two fewer hours than usual serving takeout and curbside pickup from 11 – 5 p.m. Deliveries begin at 3 p.m. Customers place their orders on the phone or through the shop’s Facebook page.
“The goal is to limit contact in all ways possible,” she said.
Jessica Hazan
Due to some difficulty in having the shop’s food orders being completely fulfilled, the shop also keeps a fully stocked fridge of pre-packaged soups. “There is always something for everybody,” Hazan said. The shop receives a delivery order once or twice a week.
The shop is also continuing to serve ice cream and offers deliveries of pre-packed pints. Hazan said the shop’s sales have been down about 40 percent since Covid-19 hit.
A selection of The Soup Girl’s best selling soups.
Hazan said she remains motivated to keep the shop open to keep her loyal customers happy in such “sad” times. The shop has gotten orders from people who live out of state and are placing delivery orders for older family members who can’t leave their homes.
Hazan, who is 47 opened the shop in 2008 to pursue her interest in cooking and catering. “I used to just make soups for my friends and neighbors, and they would always tell me they are worth charging for,” she said. Originally from Queens, N.Y., Hazan has been living in Hamden for 16 years.
The shop started in a rented kitchen until Hazan got her current storefront in 2012. Before starting her business, Hazan worked as a part-time special education teacher.
Jessica's curbside pickup method is risky; she should be putting the order in the trunk/back of the car rather than delivering it through the passenger-side window (as in the photo) or a back window. This is what other food stores and CitySeed's farmers market are doing, to maximize physical distance between customer and vendor. Stay safe and well, everyone!