‘Soup Nazi’ invades Fort Collins

FORT COLLINS — The latest tenant to lease commercial space at the Northern Hotel is a restaurant that borrowed its theme from an old Seinfeld episode.

That’s right, the Soup Nazi is coming to Old Town Fort Collins.

Owned by Martin Dickey and Tom Stoner, Spoons, Soups and Salads will make its debut in a 2,200-square-foot spot on the Northern Hotel’s Walnut Street side sometime in March 2003. The proprietors said it will be a kinder, gentler Soup Nazi behind the counter, offering up to eight varieties of homemade soup, five different types of salads and fresh baked bread daily — and no strict ordering procedures. The menu will include vegetarian and vegan items, and Spoons, Soups and

Salads plans to feature local artists and musicians on a regular basis.

Stoner said he and his partner have been formulating the concept since the well-known episode aired several years ago. “It is a served line, like on the show,” Stoner said. “But we are all about customer service. We are going to be very friendly.” Stoner has extensive experience with several five-star resorts, and for the record, prefers to be called the chef.

The business entity behind the incarnation of the Seinfeld episode is Culinary & Community Creations LLC, which, if all goes well with its first venture, has big expansion plans. Another Spoons, Soups and Salads is already planned for southeast Fort Collins in the fall, Dickey said, and the Soup Nazi is planning to storm the Northern Front Range with additional locations in Loveland, Greeley and

Laramie by 2005.

The restaurant marks the fourth commercial tenant to fill space on the first floor of the recently restored Northern Hotel. James Day, broker with Wheeler Commercial, said that with the already opened Starbucks, Puzzlering and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Spoons, Soups and Salads’ occupation still leaves about half the commercial space available.

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