Newburyport's Ed Ridolfi likes a good bowl of soup. And every day, he would spend much of his morning calling around to area eateries to see what each was offering for their Soup of the Day so he could satisfy his craving.
It was a tiring chore.
About six months ago, something clicked. Wouldn't it be great, he thought, to have one central place to go to gather that information?
He took the idea to his friend Heather Cathcart, who loved it.
And "What's the Soup?" was born.
The Web site — http://whatsthesoup.net — aims to answer that burning question. Participating restaurants, who subscribe to the site for an annual fee, log in every day to update their soup offerings for all to see. The Web site also includes a link to the restaurants' own Web pages.
Currently, 15 Newburyport restaurants are listed on the site, which typically is fully updated by 11 a.m. daily. Eventually, Cathcart said, they hope to expand the site to include restaurants in Portsmouth, Portland and, ultimately, Boston and beyond.
Although the site just went live officially last week, Cathcart said interest within the "soup community" has been strong, with about 60 to 70 soup-lovers visiting every day.
And the restaurants, which were accustomed to getting numerous calls every day asking "What's the soup," have seen the volume of callers decline as people check out the Web site instead.
"They've had a lot of great response from it," Cathcart said of the restaurants.
Cathcart, also of Newburyport, sees potential for the Web site to expand, with things like Twitter updates, a blog where people can check what restaurants are offering their favorite soup selections, or social networking opportunities for the soupors (diners) and soupees (restaurants).
The What's the Soup founders also hope to organize an event for all subscribers, a "Souperbowl" where the entrance fee could perhaps be a can of soup with proceeds donated to local soup kitchens, Cathcart said.
Since soup is most popular in the colder months, restaurants that don't offer a soup of the day year-round will be encouraged to post other menu offerings during the summer.
Laurie Trout, owner of Fowle's on State Street in downtown Newburyport, was one of the first eateries to join whatsthesoup.net.
"It's working out great," she said. "I think it's a great product for people."
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