SPOKANE, Wash. – After over a decade spent owning Soulful Soups, a beloved downtown Spokane soup restaurant, owner Lauren D’Arienzo is preparing to say goodbye to her vibrant, friendly business that has stood at Howard and Riverside since 2001.
“This is a Spokane staple,” Lauren D’Arienzo said.
D’Arienzo’s announcement comes days after Spokane Police officers shot and killed a man who was armed with a knife and threatening people right outside Soulful Soups. However, D’Arienzo said this shooting did not push her over the edge, rather just over time, she has become tired of what being a downtown business owner entails in Spokane.
“I’ve been doing the same job for 12 years, and I’m just ready for something different,” D’Arienzo said.
And though she still loves the Lilac City, D’Arienzo is excited for her next adventure.
She is moving to Sandpoint, Idaho full time to grow her second business, The St. Bernard. But looking back to the beginning, her journey to Soulful Soups is special. D’Arienzo’s dream began growing up in New York State, dreaming of the day she would live in Washington State.
A book her mom has saved for years tells that story.
“I wrote that I wanted to live in Washington State in third grade, and then, I also wrote in the same book that I love soup, soup is my favorite food,” D’Arienzo said. “So, how are the odds of that? Years later I own a soup restaurant in Washington state.”
Sometimes, in ways we can’t even imagine, dreams do come true. Yet over time, those dreams are fulfilled, and new ones are found; D’Arienzo is ready to live our her next one.
But what does that mean for one of Spokane’s favorite restaurants? D’Arienzo hopes this is not the end of Soulful Soups, just the end of her time owning the business. Her current lease is up in 2025 and if it was up to D’Arienzo, a new buyer would take over. That’s being worked out with the building’s landlord, Mike Lang.
Lang said he is open to all options, but finding the right tenant to replace D’Arienzo is the most important thing to him. If that does not happen, the landlord said he has considered selling the building entirely or turning the space into a health food operation.
“There’s lots of options, I’m going to take my time to figure it out,” Lang said.
As for why D’Arienzo is leaving, aside from simply being ready to write a new chapter in her book of life, she said being a business owner downtown has changed tremendously over the years and has become tiring.
“I love Spokane, I was always a cheerleader for Spokane,” she said. “I’m not quite as proud as I used to be of the city.”
From ongoing crime just outside her front door to staffing shortages and very long hours inside, running a popular restaurant has gotten harder. And D’Arienzo said seeing the city she loves go downhill in some areas, has made her even sadder.
But her love for Soulful Soups will never fade.
“It’s family, it’s home, I sometimes do it in my sleep,” she said. “I want Soulful to stay here forever and ever and ever, I just haven’t been able to make that transition for someone else to take it over.”
Regardless of what happens, D’Arienzo wants to say thank you to all who have given a little piece of their soul to Soulful Soups.
“Thank you for thinking of us, I think about all the people who showed up for COVID,” she said, almost tearing up. “Holy cow, I feel really special. This place is really special.”
