Milford's own - Souper Dawny

MILFORD — Dawn E. Weber, owner of Dawny’s Soup Creations & More was Dawny to her family, but only became Dawny to everyone in Milford after she bought the restaurant from Holly Aschoff (Holly’s Soup Creations) in August of 2004. As she puts it, “it was easier on the sign” to call it “Dawny’s”. Actually, she’s Dawn E, as well. Dawny sat with us over a “cuppa “for this interview. PCC: Why did you decide to buy the restaurant from Holly? DEW: I had worked for Holly for 7 years here. When she wanted to sell the restaurant, she came to me first. For me, it was a life- long dream to own a restaurant and Holly was very fair and supportive. PCC: How many people do you have working for you? DEW: We now have six. My sister Faith(Mead) works in the kitchen. Most people don’t know her. Jeanette Kidney, Jean Carafano, and Eileen Pallini work the counter and deal with the customers. Diana Decker has been with me since the beginning. PCC: I’ve seen them in action. They are really always efficient and always great with the people. DEW: We believe that is important. We believe in ”Smother the customer with Kindness” and these gals are excellent with people. I search for this quality in hiring people and it is often hard to find. PCC: How do you decide which soups to serve on a given day? DEW: We create a new menu every day. We try and cover all the food categories for our soups; Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free, Beef,Non-Dairy, and Low- Fat. We have Chicken soup and Chili available every day. All our soups are made from scratch with no preservatives and no MSG. We also serve salad, quiche, burgers, wraps and paninis, as well as cookies and desserts. PCC: Your sign says Dawny’s Soup Creations & More. Tell us more about “& More.” DEW: The dining room is a full-service restaurant. It’s open 8am to 4pm every day, serving breakfast and lunch. Most people don’t know that we have a full breakfast menu—.eggs, (create your own omelet), and pancakes among other items. PCC: I’d bet you have more than one type of pancake. DEW: We have buttermilk, blueberry, bananas, strawberry, chocolate chip or a combination of any of these. PCC: Your catering service is also part of “& More,” isn’t it? DEW: We cater any events from typical office luncheons to really fancy weddings. PCC: Do you deliver to schools and local businesses? DEW: We have free delivery within the Boro and we deliver to businesses and schools in Dingmans, Shohola, and Matamoras with a $15.00 minimum. We also fax our daily menu to the area businesses and have a Soup Hot Line recorded menu so people can call in their orders. People can also call us and ask to be on the fax list to receive menus daily. PCC: People know you have always contributed to the community. What organizations do you generally support? DEW: I like to support the community in general. I also like to support the schools, St. Vincent’s, the Lutheran Church, and Safe Haven. I just donated pastry to the Pike County Builder’s Association. PCC: It’s clear that you have made a this business a great success What would you like to do with it in the next three-five years? DEW: I’d like to have expanded hours and to be open for dinner till about 7pm. . I’d especially like to be able to provide Family Pak Dinners that people could order ahead of time and pick up on their way home. My greatest reward is having people enjoy good home- made food. PCC: Sounds soupendous!