Twin brothers Keith and Kevin Mullaney, born and raised in Baltimore, run Soup’s On in Mount Vernon. When they retire, Kevin said, they’d like to give away the store, “just like Willy Wonka — do some kind of contest...to find someone that would like it and just let them carry on the torch.” Photo courtesy of Soup's On

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Keith and Kevin Mullaney started a soup business 25 years ago and are still stirring, selling and serving fresh, hot soup together. 

The identical twin brothers, 60, grew up in Mayfield in Northeast Baltimore. They started their company in California but came home in 2007 to be closer to their mother.  

In 2008, they opened a shop in Mount Vernon, and ever since, Soup’s On has been selling 10 varieties of soup — along with sandwiches, frittatas, salads and dessert — six days a week. 

“It’s a lot of work,” Kevin Mullaney said. “When we get in here, we start with a whole walk-in [refrigerator] full of produce, and by the end of the day, that’s all [turned] into five-gallon buckets of soups. We try to get 20 or 30 gallons of soup done a day…We go through like 300 pounds of onions.” 

The Mullaneys started cooking in their teenage years. They graduated from high school early, at age 15, and went to college, first at Johns Hopkins, then Morgan State. 

When they were 19, they worked at Gianni’s in Harborplace, prepping food for Anthony Bourdain, who later became a celebrity chef, author and TV star. 

Success in California 

Wanting a change of pace, the twins left Baltimore in 1984 and transferred to California State University in Los Angeles.  

“We were going to college here, but we decided to finish up in California. We were the youngest of five, and we were the first to leave. We went out on our own, and we paid for our own education, and we just stayed” in California, Kevin Mullaney explained. 

All through college, they both worked in restaurants. While studying for his master’s degree, Keith was working at a struggling coffee house in Palo Alto.  

To help turn the tide, he suggested the owners change the menu. He tested a few recipes in the coffee house’s off-site kitchen and presented them with a roster of soups. 

“They were losing money,” Kevin said. “Keith came in and revamped the menu and provided soups and other items, all fresh — and that company went from losing money to making a million dollars the first year.” 

When the coffee shop asked the brothers to come on board, the twins had a revelation, Kevin said. “We said to ourselves, ‘Well, if we can do it for you, we can do it for ourselves.’”  

The brothers took the concept to Los Angeles, where they officially launched a wholesale soup business in July 1999.  

When the brothers met with their very first customers, the owners of a local coffee shop, they arrived dressed exactly alike. There, they discovered the shop’s owners were also identical twins, also dressed the same!  

“It was like a ‘Twilight Zone’ episode,” Kevin said. 

As wholesalers, the Mullaneys dispatched 50 gallons of soup a day via trucks throughout the city — delivering to cafés, coffee shops and grocery stores.  

After a year as wholesalers, they went into retail, selling at farmers markets year-round. Even in July, Californians wanted soup.  

“They would buy soups all year long,” Kevin said. “Here in Maryland, they all ignore me during the summer. I’ll do cold soup, but they’ll still ignore me.”  

The Mullaneys eventually opened 10 locations of Soup’s On throughout Los Angeles.  

“We used to open up [a new location] every two or three years,” Kevin said. “The first month [at the site]…we did just soup. That’s all we really want to do. But we can’t get away with it.”  

After a month, customers usually started asking for salads and sandwiches, so the Mullaneys complied, eventually adding frittatas and chocolate mousse. 

“And every [location], within a year, would make a profit, which is pretty amazing. We had it down to a science,” Kevin said. 

Returning home 

Despite their successful business, the Mullaneys pulled up stakes in 2006 and moved back to Maryland.  

“We came here to take care of Mom. We couldn’t convince her to move out there. She’s a Baltimorean through and through,” Kevin said. (Case in point: Mary Jane Mullaney’s favorite soup is cream of crab.) 

At first, they opened an eatery in Perry Hall. It wasn’t an ideal location, he said, “but it was a turnkey operation, meaning the kitchen was already equipped.” 

After a year, the Mullaneys left Perry Hall and opened Soup’s On in their current location — a rowhouse at 11 West Preston Street in Mount Vernon. The brothers moved in above OK Natural Food Store and began repainting the walls.  

MICA students painted the tabletops, each one inspired by a different type of soup. The students got paid for their work and received class credit. One artist, Minku Kim, went on to become a successful painter.  

Soup’s On’s main clientele are students from MICA and the University of Baltimore. “If they weren’t here, I wouldn’t be here,” Kevin said.  

“When we first opened up here 17 years ago, we were packed day and night, first with students, and at night, [patrons of] the Meyerhoff, the Lyric Opera House, the Theater Project and so forth. Unfortunately, over the last 10 years, that [theater] business has really declined.”  

The brothers run the business together. Keith is in charge of soups, and Kevin oversees sandwiches, salads and frittatas. 

 “We’re actually running the whole show,” Kevin said, with only a MICA student helping out on Saturdays and one or two employees during the lunch rush. 

Surprising retirement plans 

Despite his love of soup, Kevin is looking forward to retiring in five or 10 years. Because he doesn’t have children and can’t convince any family members to take over the business, he has another idea for the future of Soup’s On. 

“I’d like to give it away,” he said. “Just like Willy Wonka — do some kind of contest and maybe give the money to some kind of charity.” 

“I’d like to find someone that would like it and just let them carry the torch.” 

Visit Soup’s On at 11 W. Preston St., Baltimore or check the soups of the day by calling (410) 528-1003 or visiting soupsonbalto.com.