The Hale and Hearty Founders Opened a New Uptown Soup Spot. How Is It?

The Hale and Hearty Founders Opened a New Uptown Soup Spot. How Is It?

Schnipper’s Quality Soups is like an old friend we hadn’t spoken to in years.

Now, the founders of Hale and Hearty, have returned: Over the holidays, Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper opened Schnipper’s Quality Soups on the Upper East Side (849 Lexington Avenue, near East 64th Street) — in the same spot as their original Hale and Hearty Soups location 30 years ago, next-door to Donohue’s Steakhouse. Picking this location for their relaunch makes for a good, if slightly petty, comeback story (the brothers had long ago exited the soup chain they founded, before it overexpanded).

“Soup in this location is personal to us — it’s how I met my wife, and my brother is literally going to be standing back where he was making soups [when we first opened],” Schnipper told Eater last year.

If the name sounds familiar, that’s because the brothers also own several locations of the American fast-food spot Schnipper’s, and more recently opened the sit-down Hamburger America in Soho, which explores historical, regional styles of burgers in collaboration with George Motz.

Particularly in their more recent businesses, the Schnippers optioned for throwback design and have also styled Schnipper’s Quality Soups like a luncheonette or an automat. It has brown-and-cream checkerboard tiles and milk-glass lights, distinct from the early-aughts aesthetic from Hale and Hearty with tables filled with dried beans that created a mosaic effect. At their new spot, a ladle serves as a door handle to the entrance, and a scallop-edged orange awning frames the windows. Currently, Schnipper’s Quality Soups has no seating, just standing counters, but an employee told me they’re working on adding chairs — does anyone sit in a fast-casual lunch place anyway?

I heard at least one customer exclaim, “This used to be Hale and Hearty!” when I visited recently, cueing some potential confusion of whether this is it or something new, an in-between feeling, almost like a sketch on Nathan for You. The restaurant leans into its history (a sign at the front has a timeline of how the brothers came into the family soup business), while also doing a careful dance of not relying too far on a name that is no longer theirs. It’s ultimately a new business but it brings much of what was lovable about the original — including the homemade recipes — to the front.

“Listen, we’ve always loved soup — my brother just has a knack for making unbelievable soup,” Andrew Schnipper also told Eater in a previous interview.

Soups like tomato-cheddar, chicken-sausage jambalaya, or spinach-artichoke cheddar are served in kettles in a glass case (daily flavors are announced on their Instagram and there are vegan and gluten-free options). Prices remain reasonable: at the low end, they start at $4.50 for an eight-ounce small.

A small size is plenty filling when paired with a heaping of oyster crackers (or bread if you choose), making it easy to have a takeout lunch here for less than $10, which is something to celebrate in and of itself. Sandwiches are also available ($6.50 each, $6 when paired with soup), as well as salads (they’ve long prided themselves on being early to the chopped salad game, priced between $10 to $12), and a beverage case.

Even if certain recipes have been updated, there was a familiar, welcoming perfume to the space, that immediately catapulted me back. I feel certain the thick, savory tomato-cheddar in particular could be reliable in saving me from a hangover.

The thing about a chain-in-the-making soup spot is the entire appeal is its proximity. This is not a destination to travel, because it is not meant to be. But for those who work and live nearby (it’s right near Hunter College), it fills a void in much of the current lunch fray. I’m looking forward to seeing where Schipper’s Quality Soups opens next (hopefully in the Financial District, near the Eater headquarters).