When the pandemic hit, bouchon server Lucas Bird, like many food industry professionals, faced the emotional and financial challenges of months without work. Bird’s girlfriend, Grace Slansky, who works at the Wildcat Lounge, suggested starting a pop-up out of Little Kitchen next door when the restaurant is closed on Mondays.
When the couple realized that some of their favorite quarantine meals were, unsurprisingly, comfort food — specifically soups and sandwiches — Soup Herb was born. Slansky stepped in to help with marketing, and Bird’s restaurant industry friends David Fainberg and Vicken Tavitian jumped into the kitchen.
“I couldn’t ask for a better team,” Bird said. “What started as a group of out-of-work food service workers has grown into an opportunity to lift up other people in the industry and give our friends an outlet to cook and make a little cash.”