Zoup! in Ballston to Close This Week

Soup and sandwich purveyor Zoup! is serving its final bowls in Ballston this week.

Jim Beverley, owner of the franchised location at 4401 Fairfax Drive, tells ARLnow that Zoup! is closing this coming Friday, Oct. 15. It opened almost exactly two years ago, in October 2019.

“Regrettably, in the end the pandemic just took too large a bite out of our sales and staffing levels for us to survive,” writes Beverley.

Not only has hiring been difficult for the entire restaurant industry, but many office workers continue to work remotely amid Covid waves, shrinking a large potential lunchtime customer base for fast casual restaurants in business districts, like Zoup!

The restaurant tried to give back to the community amid tough times, providing free and reduced-price catered meals to area clinics, hospitals, and homeless shelters. This includes providing meals to Bridges to Independence and Historic Christ Church in Alexandria, Beverley writes.

The location had stayed open nearly the entire pandemic, but was closed on weekends this summer.

“During that time we were down to one person staffing the store at a time on weekdays,” Beverley notes.

The chain is known for its soups, mac and cheese dishes, and sandwiches. While there are other locations in the region, this is the only one owned by Beverley and the only Zoup! in Arlington.

The Zoup! in Sterling still appears to be open, but the one in Frederick looks to have also closed its doors.

Photo via Instagram/Zoup! Ballston