Soup Alley will Return, only Greener

Many Wiltonians may have been wondering what happened to Soup Alley, Wilton’s cherished gourmet soup store that has been part of Wilton for 13 years.

It turns out that Soup Alley owners Alley and Jeffery Bernhard decided not to renew their lease at their off of Danbury Road because they wanted to make a smaller carbon footprint by opening up a more efficient commissary.

“We’re looking at future costs, overhead, square footage costs. We want to be more green-energy efficient in a conscious manner,” said Alley.

Alley said that their now-closed store is larger than what their new shop will be, and are looking into Wilton Center for a new location. The new Soup Alley will have a smaller seating area and will focus more on quick serve and catering to fit the new business model, Alley said. The smaller location is slated to be the primary location for that magical soup brewing; in part, this will help allow the Bernhards to open up satellite locations to spread the soup around the state at a lower overhead.

“Places in the city operate out of one commissary. We’re looking at the same model,” she said, also noting that they are looking at Westport for an additional location.

“When you see big places like Walmart scaling back, bookstores closing, you can’t live at the moment right now. You have to look at the future prediction over the next 10 years. You certainly cant have waste and you have to cut costs,” said Alley.

So when will Wiltonians get to reap the benefits of this new hub?

“Possibly by the fall,” said Alley. The taste of soup will have a more local tinge on the palette, too: the soup masters are also looking to buy from local, organic farms “whenever we can.”

If you’re craving soup in the meantime, you’ll have to visit their .