Soup For You! These NH Souperies Will Warm You Up This Winter

Nearly all of winter’s downsides — the cold, the darkness, the jam-packed holiday schedules — can be remedied by the season’s culinary staple: a relatively low-effort, great-as-leftovers vat of soup. Sure, you could spend hours simmering down your own — but better yet, let one of these three New Hampshire soup shops handle the stewing for you.

Seacoast Soups
North Hampton • seacoastsoups.com 

The spicy thai, a gingery, coconutty, curry broth with mung bean noodles, is a bestseller at Seacoast Soups. Photo Courtesy/ Seacoast Soups

Around 16 years ago, Dina Williams emailed 30 of her closest friends and family, asking if they’d be interested in getting soup delivered to their homes. 

“I would send out an email on Friday, they could order by Sunday, and then I would deliver by Tuesday,” Williams says. 

It was a hit, and word spread quickly. “I got to have about 500 people on the email list, and I realized I couldn’t do it out of my kitchen anymore,” she says.

Williams opened Seacoast Soups’ first brick-and-mortar location 11 years ago; back then, it was a one-woman show. Now the company has about 30 employees and more than 50 soups on rotation. The Spicy Thai — a gingery, coconutty, curry broth with mung bean noodles — has been on the menu since day one and is still a bestseller. 

“It’s spicy, but not too spicy,” Williams says. “We’re not trying to hurt anybody, but it definitely has a kick.” 

Williams doesn’t have any formal cooking training and, as a native Californian, wasn’t really a soup person before she moved to New England. Williams says her cooking style — “throw a lot of things in one pot and see what happens” — is inspired by her Lebanese roots, specifically her grandmother. 

“Every time I would visit her, I couldn’t wait for the food,” Williams recalls. “She never had a recipe.” Soups are particularly amenable to that type of improvisation. 

Grandma’s lentil and lima bean soups on the shop’s menu were inspired by recipes Williams’ grandmother made. “(The lima bean soup) was my favorite dish that she made,” she says. “I was a young child begging for lima beans.” 

Although you’ll find familiar flavors like chicken noodle and split pea on the menu, Williams says she tries to serve varieties you can’t get just anywhere. 

“We have brought some flavors and acidity and spice that you wouldn’t typically get in New England,” Williams says. “There’s definitely an audience for it.” 

She calls out the mulligatawny soup — red lentils, spinach, sweet potatoes, coconut milk and garam masala — as one that was unexpectedly popular. In December, they serve a beef stew Fridays, and it always sells out. Before committing, customers can sample as many soups as they’d like.

In addition to the four hot soups on the menu every day, customers can snag soups from the freezer along with take-home meals (think mac and cheese, shepherd’s pie, penne alla vodka), salads, wraps and baked goods. The shop also serves a variety of rolls, breads and crackers as sides, though Williams says the favorite is their honey-soaked cornbread. 

Seacoast Soups is the only business in this story that’s open year-round and, Williams says, is a true family environment. In addition to the people that she’s related to — her husband, sister-in-law and husband’s uncle — there are two father-daughter teams and multiple sets of siblings on staff. “I think that transfers to the food,” she says. “We cook what we like, and we’re not afraid to serve whatever. We hope that people will find what’s good and trust us.”

The Soupery
Portsmouth & Durham • juicery.com/soupery 

The Soupery features a menu of various soup selections that rotates daily. Photo Courtesy/ The Soupery

A decade ago, Alex Vandermark was on a mission to fill the beloved 100-foot space where he’d opened the first location of his now-chain of smoothie and juice shops, The Juicery. “We had moved (The Juicery) next door, but I had so much love for this funky little space where I would hit my head on the ceiling,” Vandermark recalls. “I said, ‘I can’t let this go. I’ve got to figure something out.’” And so, The Soupery was born. 

“I’ve always had an obsession with healthy food,” he says, but otherwise, Vandermark doesn’t have any formal background in food. He also wasn’t really a soup guy, but felt that it was the category that made the most sense for the small space he was working with. 

When The Soupery first opened, they rotated 30 soups, stayed open year-round, and used to let people inside the space. 

“I realized quickly that people don’t really like soup in the summer,” Vandermark says. So they turned it into a seasonal takeout counter and honed in on the bestsellers. Now, they have about a dozen in rotation, with six available on any given day (you can see the day’s options on their Facebook page) all sourced from Hurricane’s Premium Soups & Chowders in Greene, Maine. 

“They use local ingredients and no preservatives,” Vandermark says. “A lot of people are just obsessed with the soup.” 

He says the ultimate fan-favorite is the Cajun sweet potato and chicken. 

“That stuff flies off the shelf,” as does their popular two-alarm chili. There are plenty of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options as well. “People love the Hungarian mushroom if you’re going for vegetarian options (as well as the) Maine broccoli cheddar and creamy butternut squash,” he notes. 

Vandermark bought the original Juicery off Craigslist in 2008 when, after college, “I couldn’t get a job in marketing,” he explains, when asked what inspired him to make the purchase. “I just got really lucky. Bootstrapped the thing, put a lot of stuff on credit cards.” Vandermark’s entrepreneurial instincts clearly paid off: He’s since expanded to 13 Juicery and two Soupery locations.

The Soupery is a seasonal business. They open in the fall and close around May, with one exception: At the Durham location, which is inside a Juicery and close to the University of New Hampshire, you can get one classic combo year-round. 

“We continue selling grilled cheese up there, so we sell tomato soup through the summer,” Vandermark says. “We want (the students) to have their tomato soup and grilled cheese.”

Collins Brothers Chowder
Nashua • collinsbrotherschowder.com

Collins’ beef stew is offered a few times a year at Collins Brothers Chowder in Nashua. Photo Courtesy/ Collins Brothers Chowder

Thirty-five years ago, the Collins brothers opened a wholesale chowder business, distributing to local restaurants and stores. In 2005, they sold the shop to Bob Hughes and Dan Largy, who turned it into a grab-and-go spot for anyone craving soup.     

As of 2020, the place is run by sisters-in-law Tina Burke and Kimberly Poisson (Poisson’s maiden name, coincidentally, is Collins, but she has no relation to the original owners). Despite the ownership turnover, the seasonal takeout spot is still connected to its roots, serving up a variety of chowders while expanding its lunch options.

Though neither Burke nor Poisson has prior cooking experience, Hughes stayed on as a chef, working a few days a week to make old favorites and new special recipes alike. On a daily basis, there are 10 soups on the menu, including a rotating menu of specials. Burke says Hughes is particularly talented at creating soup versions of beloved comfort foods: For instance, at the time of this interview, a beef taco supreme soup and chicken parmesan with cheese ravioli soup were about to hit the specials menu.

Open from September to May, Collins Brothers is strictly takeout; there’s no dining space and they’re cash only. 

“A lot of people call it a little hole in the wall or a hidden gem,” Burke says. “It’s just a tiny little place in the downtown area of Nashua. People are in and out within 30 seconds.” 

The most popular soups are, naturally, New England clam chowder and corn and bacon chowder; Burke says the chicken, vegetable and rice is also quite popular. On Fridays, they serve a Nantucket seafood chowder with clam, shrimp and haddock.

“Fridays tend to be our busiest days,” Burke says.

There’s no shortage of places to get clam chowder in New Hampshire, but Burke says theirs frequently gathers accolades. 

“(Our chowder) is thick and creamy. It’s loaded with clams,” she says. “We are considered gourmet … We have been voted as a No. 1 chowder in the greater Nashua area.” 

In addition to award-winning chowders, Burke and Poisson have expanded on the heat and serve meals the previous owners offered, adding a variety of mac and cheese options, lobster rolls, chili dogs, sausages with peppers and onions and different Italian pasta dishes. Crackers are included with the soups, but there are bread options for sale as well: crusty baguettes, cheesy garlic bread, honey-
maple cornbread. 

“We have people that we see every day that are just dedicated,” Burke says. “People will come in May when we close, and just stock up and freeze a bunch so they have soup throughout the summer.”

GRANDMA’S LENTIL (courtesy of Dina Williams from Seacoast Soups)

1 1-pound bag of brown lentils
2 tablespoons allspice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
21/2 quarts water
1/3 cup white rice
1 diced yellow onion
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 lemon, juiced and zested
4 tablespoons salt, divided
1/2 10-ounce box frozen spinach

Over high heat, in a large pot, combine water, lentils, allspice, cinnamon and rice, and bring to a boil. 

Once boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.  

Meanwhile, in a medium-size pot, heat olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute, then add onions with 2 tablespoons of salt, and sauté them for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. (Onions should be caramelized and deep golden brown when finished.)

Stir in garlic and cook for 2 minutes. 

Turn off heat and deglaze with vinegar, scraping up the bottom of the pan.

When lentils are done, add in remaining 2 tablespoons salt, lemon juice and zest, frozen spinach and caramelized onions.