Schnipper's Quality Soups
Restaurant · Upper East Side
849 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10065
Highlights
Quality soups, sandwiches, and salads from Hale & Hearty founders
Quality soups, sandwiches, and salads from Hale & Hearty founders
"Opened just in time for another sustained batch of cold air, Schnipper’s Quality Soups is from the family that originally founded Hale & Hearty (they sold it before it closed in 2022). Schnipper’s is in the original Hale & Hearty location on the UES, and they serve daily soups like chicken and vegetable, specials like chicken and sausage jambalaya, and simple sandwiches that cost $6 when paired with any soup." - will hartman, bryan kim
"A return-to-roots concept from Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper (founders of Hale and Hearty) opening in their original Hale and Hearty headquarters, styled like an old-school luncheonette and focusing on quality soups." - Emma Orlow
"Hale and Hearty’s founders (who also own the fast-food joint Schnipper’s) have returned to soup. They’ve opened a counter-service spot that ladles up a similar spirit as when they first launched the chain uptown. Soups like tomato-cheddar, chicken-sausage jambalaya, or spinach-artichoke cheddar are served in kettles in a glass case (daily flavors are announced on their Instagram and there are vegan and gluten-free options). Prices remain reasonable: at the low end, they start at $4.50 for an eight-ounce small. The thing about a chain-in-the-making soup spot is the entire appeal is its proximity. This is not a destination to travel to because it is not meant to be. But for those who work and live nearby (it’s right near Hunter College), it fills a void in much of the current lunch fray." - Eater Staff
"Opened over the holidays by brothers Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper in the same spot as their original Hale and Hearty Soups location 30 years ago (next-door to Donohue’s Steakhouse at 849 Lexington Avenue, near East 64th Street), this relaunch is framed as a personal comeback: “Soup in this location is personal to us — it’s how I met my wife, and my brother is literally going to be standing back where he was making soups [when we first opened],” Schnipper told Eater last year. Styled like a throwback luncheonette/automat rather than the early-aughts Hale and Hearty aesthetic—with brown-and-cream checkerboard tiles, milk-glass lights, a ladle serving as the door handle, and a scallop-edged orange awning—the space currently has standing counters (an employee said they’re working on adding chairs) and leans into its history with a front sign timeline, though the owners are “doing a careful dance of not relying too far on a name that is no longer theirs.” At the counter, soups are presented in kettles in a glass case with daily flavors announced on Instagram and options that include vegan and gluten-free choices; examples cited are tomato-cheddar, chicken-sausage jambalaya, and spinach-artichoke cheddar. Prices remain reasonable (small eight-ounce cups start at $4.50), and a small paired with oyster crackers or bread makes an inexpensive takeout lunch for under $10; sandwiches are $6.50 each ($6 when paired with soup), salads run $10–$12 (the owners note they were early to the chopped-salad game), and there’s a beverage case. The owners—who also operate Schnipper’s fast-food locations and opened Hamburger Americain Soho with George Motz—emphasize homemade recipes and a comforting, nostalgic vibe: one customer exclaimed, “This used to be Hale and Hearty!” and Andrew Schnipper summed up the ethos plainly: “Listen, we’ve always loved soup — my brother just has a knack for making unbelievable soup.” The thick, savory tomato-cheddar is singled out as particularly restorative (useful, the writer notes, for curing a hangover), and the concept is pitched as a neighborhood, proximity-driven luncheonette rather than a destination—ideal for nearby workers and students (it’s right near Hunter College) and positioned for modest expansion to other neighborhoods." - Emma Orlow
"Schnipper’s Quality Soups is from the family that originally founded Hale & Hearty (they sold it before it closed in 2022). Schnipper’s is in the original Hale & Hearty location on the Upper East Side, and they serve daily soups like chicken and vegetable, specials like chicken and sausage jambalaya, and simple sandwiches that cost $6 when paired with any soup. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists." - Team Infatuation
