Soup restaurant Spoons to close
Jan. 27—A from-scratch soup spot that turned a small space in downtown Medford into lunchtime fixtures in two Southern Oregon locations is calling it quits at the end of the week.
After more than a decade in business, Spoons — and its ever-rotating menu — will close its kitchen window location in the Woolworth Building at 33 N. Central in Medford and its second location at 1254 N. Third St. in Central Point, owner/operator Merrie Bechtold announced Wednesday evening on the business' social media pages.
"I hang up my tongs with a myriad of emotion," Bechtold's farewell post states.
Bechtold's rotating menu of freshly made soups, salads and loaded "Pounder" baked potatoes at drive-thru prices struck a chord with lunch crowds.
"It's been an 11-year journey that started with a mere $2,500," Bechtold's post states.
According to an October 2012 profile on the business, Bechtold had been an organic farmer and sheep rancher prior to opening the restaurant on Friday, Jan. 13, 2012.
Her eldest daughter gave her the idea to serve a few simple wholesome items that could be eaten with a spoon, according to the profile, and the first location — no larger than a snack bar in the lobby of the Woolworth Building — fit the idea perfectly.
As a business largely geared toward workers in downtown Medford, the restaurant struggled after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bechtold was "forced to make the decision" to close the business.
"It's not because I wasn't trying," Bechtold stated, calling the closure "the most difficult decision ever."
The last day at both locations will be Friday, Jan. 28.
