Annual Soup Contest ladles out win for Papa Nick’s

Shoppers vote for the best soup during Small Business Saturday

Shana Braff

Posted 12/1/22

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Annual Soup Contest ladles out win for Papa Nick’s

Shoppers vote for the best soup during Small Business Saturday

(Left to right) Alex Lyons, employee at The Storefront; Melissa Feldman, owner of The Storefront; and LuAnn Thompson, owner of Bellport Arts & Framing and co-president of the Bellport Chamber of Commerce all trying out the soups at the Chamber of Commerce tent.

ADV/Braff

Jim Avino, owner of Avino’s Italian Table, was one of the Bellport Chamber volunteers ladling out soup, in addition to entering a soup in the competition.

ADV/Braff

Members of the Bellport Chamber of Commerce scooped out soup servings while accepting donations for the chamber and letting blind taste-testers vote for their favorite soup.

ADV/Braff

Posted Wednesday, November 30, 2022 12:00 am

Shana Braff

In keeping with a 25-year tradition, the Bellport Village annual Soup Contest, hosted by the Bellport Chamber of Commerce, was held this year on Saturday, Nov. 26. It coincided with Small Business Saturday and helped shoppers fuel up before a festive day of hitting the local shops in downtown Bellport. From noon to 2 p.m., the Bellport Chamber of Commerce featured the blind taste-test soup contest, with donations going to help support the chamber’s many community activities.

Five local restaurants vied for the illustrious title of Best Soup. Congratulations to Papa Nick’s for coming out on top of this tough competition. The local eatery was victorious with their distinct take on hearty fall fare. They showcased a kick with tortellini Italian sausage tomato soup, which tasters remarked spiced up the competition with their super soup selection.

Other contestants included Avino’s Italian Table (third place), Cosimos, Porters on the Lane, and Shelby’s Kitchen (second place).

Jim Avino, owner of Avino’s Italian Table, was one of the Bellport Chamber members who volunteered to serve soup to discerning shoppers. He explained, “You vote for a number. You don’t know whose soup it is.”

The aroma of a mélange of sensational scents wafted through the air on the warm and sunny late-fall day, which is the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season.

Linda Wagner, who won the 2022 Bellport Day Poster Contest, and obviously appreciates Bellport’s singular appeal, said, “I came to do a little shopping. I brought my list.” As she stopped to check it twice, Wagner was sure to pop by the chamber tent, located at the Four Corners, to do some taste-testing and to cast her vote for greatest gustatory pick. Her favorite was, unsurprisingly, the winning tortellini soup from Papa Nick’s. “It has a little heat. It’s got a kick. It’s a creamy soup. It’s great, delicious, and nice and fresh,” Wagner said, before taking another scrumptious spoonful to sustain her in a big way for Small Business Saturday while shopping in picture-perfect Bellport.