56: No Experience Required to Serve Your Community: Jenny Levison of Souper Jenny

Host Allison Hare talks to Jenny Levison, owner of beloved Atlanta restaurant Souper Jenny and the founder of the foundation The Zadie Project. They discuss serving your community, following your purpose and passion, adventures in entrepreneurship, healthy cooking, and more.

Host Allison Hare talks to Jenny Levison, owner of beloved Atlanta restaurant Souper Jenny and the founder of the foundation The Zadie Project. They discuss serving your community, following your purpose and passion, adventures in entrepreneurship, healthy cooking, and more.

Episode Highlights:

Jenny grew up in Atlanta, but moved to LA with her mother when her parents got divorced, and that led her into acting.As an actor, she always also worked in restaurants, making her way through management and eventually ending up in the kitchen for a friend’s restaurant.Jenny and her husband at the time traveled around the world for 18 months, visiting 24 countries, and during that time she collected recipes from anyone she met, later realizing they were almost entirely soups.Jenny founded The Zadie Project 3 years ago as a 501(c)3 after coming together with her whole Souper Jenny team and realizing she wanted to expand the ways she was serving the community in Atlanta.Through The Zadie Project, they donate food from Souper Jenny to Title I schools, homeless shelters, and other at risk populations.Jenny is dedicated to being intentional every day, even if that means being intentional about relaxing and watching Netflix.The Zadie Project also holds a free drive-through grocery for those in need, especially with the effects of COVID-19.Souper Jenny is lucky to have already been a take-out only restaurant so they have not had to close, but it’s been hard on the employees.Jenny wants to open another location and is bidding to get into the airport.Souper Jenny sells 3 cookbooks that you can buy on their website, or get other recipes off Jenny’s blog.

3 Key Points

If you’re driven to do something and you feel it is your purpose, then you don’t need experience to get started.COVID-19 has brought out so much kindness in people that perhaps we can make this a permanent change for the better.Franchising would mean not having your hands on every aspect of the business anymore, so deliberate, intentional growth is crucial.

Tweetable Quotes:

“I look at the end like it’s already happened. All the things that you need to think about—how am I going to pay for it, how am I going to get time off work—all those things come later for me. I see that picture of what I want and everything else is secondary.” –Jenny Levison“My purpose is just to know that I didn’t waste my time here. That I created something that people enjoy, it’s not gonna change the world, maybe, but I truly love what I do.” –Jenny Levison

Resources Mentioned:

Text me at 470.242.6311. Subscribe to this podcast, SHARE, and find me everywhere at Allison’s Linktree.Subscribe to Allison’s blog, Sticky NotesOrder Souper JennySouper Jenny InstagramBuy Souper Jenny cookbooksJenny’s blogJenny’s TED Talk