Cathedral City Sun

Sept 28,2007

“ Great Take Out or Eat In and Enjoy “

JUST SOUP

By : William Avilla

Just Soup offers more than Soups and Salads. Sandwiches and a bevy of ice cream is available.

Hot Soup? In the desert? During the summer? Yes, said Scott Robertson to friends nearly five years ago before opening his restaurant at 69032 East Palm Canyon Drive.

“People drink coffee in the morning, in the summer and winter time,” Robertson reasoned, so why not soup?

And so, Just Soup sprouted in a corner spot of a Cathedral City shopping center, catering to the many who can appreciate and enjoy a hot meal in triple digit temperatures. And now that the Sept. 23 autumnal equinox - the first day of fall- has ushered in cooler weather, Just Soup has also made its business more welcoming by expanding its location into the suite next door, a 2,000 square foot addition.

The business serves more than 40 types of soups a week, said Robertson, 43 an executive chef who also privately caters and is a lifelong valley resident. For $8, customers can take home a half-sandwich, small soup and choice of beverage. Fridays are often busy, Robertson said, because it features some his clients favorites: Lobster Bisque, New England Clam Chowder, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Chili, Gazpacho and sometimes Mexican Seafood Cocktail.

It doesn’t take his best soup de jour to leave his customers satisfied, though at least according to Cathedral City resident Ana Zamorrano. “ I like soup, but not just anywhere,” she said on a recent visit for the chicken noodle soup. “ I like light and rich at the same time. I was very busy and exhausted today, and this really perked me up.”

But Just Soup doesn’t serve just soup. Robertson prepares three different salads every day, and serves 3 to 6 flavors of soft-serve ice cream.

In true fashion of small business, in the mornings they open for coffee and pastries, the latter prepared by an old friend of Robertson nicknamed “ Mom,” Robertson said. “ The cutest little gray-haired lady you’ve ever seen.”