Over the summer I wrote about a small Madison family business called The Soup Factory. Last week I finally tried Simply Soup, another Madison production. Great soups ... plus an Italian ice cream bar. That is a killer combination. They have only two locations so far, but their website announces franchising opportunities. (It just looks like a franchised concept ... much slicker than The Soup Factory.)

If you are thinking about franchising a soup restaurant, you might also check out Al Yeganeh's new concept. Yeganeh, immortalized as the "Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld, has begun franchising under the name "The Original Soup Man". According to the chairman of the new venture, "He's a total character and characters sell." Unfortunately for franchisees, however, most customers won't be able connect Yeganeh with the Soup Nazi, at least if Yeganeh has his way. According to the WSJ$, franchisees will be "strongly discouraged" from using references to "Seinfeld" or the Soup Nazi in their marketing:

For all the attention and business that the "Seinfeld" publicity has brought him, Mr. Yeganeh is not exactly grateful -- in fact he says he loathes the show's star. He refers to Jerry Seinfeld as "Jerry the Clown," and insists that it was he who helped make Mr. Seinfeld what he is today. The source of the friction is the nickname that the show made famous, the "Soup Nazi," which he says is offensive.

Yeganeh claims that he doesn't need the money that would accompany a successful franchise. It's a good thing because this business is off on the wrong foot.

Thanks to Professor Bainbridge for the tip.

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