Sounds soup-er
Celebrate the season with J & J Soup Bowl in Toledo
Gretchen Ammerman
Oregon Coast TODAY
Soup can provide comfort in the winter and a cool respite in the summer. It’s the go-to for people caring for friends and family who are under the weather. And for Jennifer (Jen) Lee Reed and Joseph (Jay) Arce, owners of the new J & J Soup Bowl in Toledo, it was an important ingredient in their relationship.
“We had been friends for a little while when, one night, she made soup for me for dinner and it was amazing,” Jay said. “When I tasted it, I knew I was in trouble.”
Jen kept cooking for her captive audience as their friendship grew into something more.
“Her cooking reminds me of things my mom would make,” Jay said. “I actually started crying once when the smell hit me.”
The “Just like mom’s” compliment is almost always a glowing review, but means even more coming from a man who grew up in a family that actually had a food-based business; the beloved-though-long-gone Ooga Nooga Cookie Factory, which was in the building that now houses Agate Beach Supply.
But Jen says cooking is simply a thing that comes naturally to her.
“I am just doing what I love,” she said. “You either have it or you don’t with spices and I guess I do. I’m having a blast learning new recipes, too.”
The fun she has cooking is apparent, according to Jay, who likens her to a character in a popular Pixar movie.
“She’s like Ratatouille,” Jay said. “It’s fun watching her spinning around trying new things and even better getting to taste them.”
In case you were wondering, the soup that Jen made for Jay was loaded baked potato, one of the options on their regular menu, which also includes roasted tomato basil, corn chowder and chicken noodle. And, now that they have the flow of the restaurant figured out after roughly two months of operation, the couple have started serving a weekly special, starting off with the Toledo taco soup, served with hand-made corn chips.
“We roast our own tomatoes, chicken, the beef that was in the taco soup and we even cream our own corn.” Jen said. “We can now officially say we use nothing that came from out of a can. It’s so easy to do and tastes so much better.”
You not only won’t find any cans at J & J, but there is also no actual cream in the creamed corn, or any of their other soups.
“I use a really silky almond milk and it tastes great,” Jen said. “You really don’t notice the difference; there are so many people that have dairy intolerances, so I just use that all the time.”
The couple’s dedication to the health of diners includes their choice to put to-go orders into sturdy paper containers.
“There is no way we were going to put hot soup in Styrofoam or plastic,” Jay said. “It was a conscious choice.”
Adding to the heartiness of the soups are options that include fresh baked goods from Jen’s mom, who also sometimes provides fresh potatoes for the loaded potato soup.
“My mom makes our homemade whole grain biscuits and parmesan breadsticks, which are very popular,” Jen said. “Many people also say they love the oyster crackers.”
Purposefully having a soft opening and letting the customer base build primarily through word of mouth gave the couple the ability to experiment with new recipes, like when they started serving cold soups during the heatwave that struck shortly after they opened.
“We thought ‘why not look up some cold soup recipes,’” Jen said. “I found a few that used melons and they turned out really good. The watermelon got especially great reviews.”
Besides the desire to serve what they consider to be “the ultimate comfort food,” the choice to serve soup was also based on place.
“It just seemed like the right choice for where we are,” Jay said. “We have pizza and burgers nearby, and we didn’t want to step on anyone's toes. We just thought this could be our little niche.”
They are also taking care of some of their neighbors who spend a lot of time on the road, the truckers leaving the Georgia Pacific mill.
“We're going to have a curbside service on the side of the building where the trucks go by,” Jen said. “They can call and order ahead and we’ll bring it out to them.”
Some locals, who found them by chance, are now regulars.
“We have one lady that comes in every day close to when we open and gets a large soup to bring to her dad for lunch,” Jen said. “The day we added the taco soup she ordered that, then she came back later to get another one for dinner.”
Jen originally met Jay when she went to see his band, six eyes high, which plays classic and original songs at local venues like Holy Toledo.
Jen actually grew up in Toledo, and Jay spent his formative years, including all of high school, in nearby Newport.
“We both love this community and love being a part of it,” Jay said. “We’re just a bear and a boomer getting together to make soup.”
J & J Soup Bowl is located at 213 S Main Street and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 am to 7 pm. For more information, call 541-635-0215.