Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook, the dream team behind some of Philly's (and New York's) most successful restaurant concepts, both fast-casual and fully-fledged, just opened their highly-anticipated Rooster Soup Co., a Sansom Street luncheonette serving up a timeless menu of patty melts, coconut cream pies, and, of course, soup.
It’s been over two years since the FedNuts team first announced their new "radical hospitality" venture in the form of a Kickstarter seeking $150,000 for a soup-focused restaurant. Why the focus on soup? Between its seven locations, Federal Donuts discards enough chicken bones to produce about 2,000 bowls of chicken soup each week", so feeding mouths instead of trashcans just makes sense.
To be clear, Rooster Soup Co. is a for-profit restaurant; what they do with those profits, however, is what makes it such a compelling new addition to Philly’s scene. It’s a partnership between Federal Donuts and Broad Street Ministry’s Hospitality Collaborative which provides not only meals, but counseling, medical and personal care services, and legal aid, too, to the city’s homeless and food-deprived communities. Based on the original projections, the restaurant is forecasted to make roughly $50,000 in profits in its first year — double that by 2022 — and every penny of it will go directly to Broad Street Ministry. For context, $50K roughly averages out to 24,272 meals.
The menu (below) comes from Erin O’Shea, a long-time CookNSolo-ite, previously of South Street’s freshly sold Percy Street BBQ. On it, expect diner classics with a Jewish (and sometimes Southern) twist. Doors open at 8 a.m. daily for breakfast, and the entire menu is available through 8 p.m. Blue-plate specials start at 4 p.m.
