A Theatrical Approach to Soup at Towers Mall

Roanoke City Manager Darlene Burcham (left) with Bonnie and Charles Hooper at the ribbon-cutter.^

Crock & Roll,the region's only restaurant devoted solely to soup, opens Tuesday (Jan. 26). Crock & Roll hopes to make soup a focal point of the Roanoke Valley's food scene with different homemade selections served daily.

"We saw a real lack of quality soups in the Roanoke Valley," says Charles Hooper, a Roanoke native and former Los Angeles-based actor/producer who recently moved back to the area. He formed a partnership with his mother, Bonnie, to open Crock & Roll at Towers Mall.

"We are looking to bring in the newest food trend--soup--to Roanoke ahead of the curve. We want to show people that the recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation don't have to be stale and old."

True to its name, the restaurant's menu will focus on soup and fresh bread along with a signature salad. Crock & Roll also will feature a savory bread pudding served in the evenings, as well as salty meats and cheeses combined with freshly baked bread.

The 1,148 square-foot restaurant seats about 20, with additional tables on an outdoor patio during warmer months. The interior, patterned after a modern Parisian bistro, was designed to be simple, sleek, inviting and free of clutter to focus on one thing only--the soup. "Soup is good for these times we live in," says Bonnie Hooper. "It's comfort food ... the perfect food to slow down and enjoy goodcompany."

Crock & Roll will offer delivery. Prices range from $6.50-$7.50 for a crock of soup--that's a pound of ingredients in each bowl--and a piece of fresh-baked bread. Crock & Roll will be open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Bonnie Hooper has been cooking soups for 30 years, and Charles has been serving up soups since he was 11. Previously, he consulted to restaurants and came across the soup trend at some of LA's trendiest spots.

(From press release.)