Souper Trouper

Jennifer Levison still makes the soup herself in the kitchen at one of Buckhead's favorite lunch spots, Souper Jenny. (Photo by Collin Kelley)

 _{It is a sunny autumn afternoon, and the line at Souper Jenny extends out the door, across the sidewalk and into the parking lot on Cains Hill Place in Buckhead. Twenty-five people, most of them women, chat or wait patiently in silence, while another half-dozen people inside are choosing from an enticing array of salads, soups, sandwiches and breads.}

"It’s about the only place in town I’ll stand in line for," one patron said as she waited her turn to get inside the cafe, tucked into a corner of Buckhead populated by hair salons and antique shops.

Souper Jenny is the creation of Jennifer Levison, 41, an energetic, dark-eyed Atlanta native who lived in Los Angeles and New York before deciding that, after all, the best place to indulge her passions for food and theater was her hometown.

"I was acting in L.A. and looking to leave," said Levison, sitting on a red leather couch in the back corner of the restaurant. From a doorway in the other corner, over which is a sign that says "Children’s Room," comes the insistent banging of a child beating on a pot.

"I wanted something I could do by myself, and perform in the evening," she said. "My whole family is here, and I’ve always entertained, and I’ve always loved food."

Levison opened a snug little cafe with three tables, eight seats and a patio eight years ago. She has expanded twice, more than doubling her space without sacrificing its intimate, European feel. The floor is faded coppery tile and the walls are muted yellows. Pictures of families, children, women and actors cover one wall, while another is devoted to Levison’s adopted 3-year-old, Jonah.

"I knew I wanted to be a parent," Levison said, "and since I was divorced, I decided adoption was the way to go."

Levison’s work day begins with "homework" the night before ideas about what she’ll fix the next day. By 5 a.m., she’s in the restaurant, where she finds what she’s ordered and decides how to put it together.

Her staff of nine are "incredible backup staff and prep cooks," but she does most of the cooking herself, without recipes. "I traveled around the world for two years," she said. "I cooked in people’s homes and learned things I had no idea how to do."

September through May, she serves six soups, two salads and two sandwiches. In the spring and summer, six salads, two soups often cold and two sandwiches. She enjoys recording the menu each day on her hotline (404-237-7687) along with Weight Watchers points, and attributes it to "my performance personality."

The day she was interviewed, the menu included My Dad’s Turkey Chili, a spinach salad with blue cheese, pear slices and macadamia nuts, and roasted eggplant soup with artichoke and blue cheese. Chicken tortillas are her most popular item and sell out quickly.

Levison serves 300 meals a day and has never advertised. The cafe is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. four days a week and 11-4 on Saturday. On Thursday, Grilled Cheese Night, she is open until 9, offering gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and wine tastings, along with the regular menu. She also "produces" Urban Story Night four times a year with a fixed menu and storytelling by poets, writers, actors and others. "The theme at the last one," she said "was ‘Lessons Learned.’"

Her staff is primarily composed of stage actors, and she indulges her own passion for the theater in one production a year. She is currently appearing in Brooklyn Boy at the Jewish Theater of the South.

Levison also teaches a cooking class once a month and, like the French, closes in August. Said Levison, "I was married to a Frenchman."

She has thus far resisted the siren song of mediocrity franchising. "I love what I do," she says. "I love feeding people, and I love entertaining. I like it being one of a kind. There’s more I could be doing, but this is my little shop. I’ll see how I feel in 10 years."

Souper Jenny, 56 E Andrews Dr., (404) 239-9023
Weekdays, 11 a.m. 5 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. 4 p.m.