McDONALD — Oftentimes when children are sick, they are asked what nourishment they’d like. While the response varies, for many it’s the comfort of a specific soup, as the effort and emotions involved make the request a reality.

Lisa Hill, of McDonald, had a similar story that ended up changing her life. The delivery in 1987 of this favorite appetizer among northeast Ohio families inspired the culinary journey that led to her creating Love Soup, a catering business and restaurant.

“During my senior year of high school, I had a friend who fell ill. I brought him wedding soup, marking the first time I had ever gifted soup to someone,” Hill said.

“Once my friend relocated, he discovered that few people were familiar with wedding soup, which, despite its name, is not typically served at weddings and contains meatballs but no red sauce. Rather than delve into explanations, my friend would simply say, ‘When someone loves you, they make you love soup.'”

That, in addition to many Sunday evenings spent at her grandmother Jennie Marino’s house among memorable company and delicious Italian food, led Hill to continue that tradition at home for social gatherings.

“Love Soup emerged from the love and care inherent in nourishing both body and soul. The act of feeding those you care about is an emotional journey. Sharing my kitchen and the happiness it brings to my loved ones has been a lifelong delight.”

Filling takeout orders of a variety of soups and other food items became an important ingredient in keeping families fed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Having a background in finance, I found the lack of creativity challenging, as I am a creative individual,” Hill said. “Love Soup was a side project I enjoyed, but the COVID pandemic presented an opportunity for me to serve a local demand. When restaurants were shut down, people began asking if I could prepare meals for them. I would cook their meals, and they would come to my driveway and open their trunks for a contactless, makeshift restaurant experience.”

As she did this, Hill realized the desire to make Love Soup a full-time reality. “I knew at 50 years old, it was now or never. I jumped, knowing I could never go back to sitting behind that desk again. COVID allowed me time to really listen to my heart.”

Taking it to the next level, Hill transitioned Love Soup toward catering to generate special memories for others around the area as well as opening in 2022 a full-menu, brick-and-mortar restaurant in McDonald that’s open three nights a week. Every week a fresh menu is presented by executive chef BJ Sulka and features desserts by in-house pastry chef Alyssa Bunker.

“Each member of the Love Soup family has a bond with McDonald and brings a diverse skill set. Speaking of family, you’ll always find my mom, Mary Lou Hill, volunteering her time,” Hill said. “As we are few, we oftentimes have to lean on our families to help complete our many projects. Central to our operation is my right hand, Lisa #2 (Lisa Stamford), who dedicates her spare time, captures all our photographs, styles our food and provides therapy that talks me down weekly, earning her keep in soup.”

Catering has been done for a variety of occasions including bridal showers, weddings, luncheons, business gatherings and “stylized in-home dinners.”

“The specialized catering events are so incredibly intimate,” explained Hill. “I equate it to growing a garden. The client and I choose the seed. I till the soil, water and harvest the fruit with my staff and then we present it to our clients in a beautiful basket at the end of its growing season. There is nothing more enjoyable or exciting than to see the look on my client’s faces when they see we’ve grown their vision into a reality.”

Discussing the timeline of putting together such events, Hill explained that it takes months of preparation that begins with multiple discussions with the client until they reach a final “vision.” A couple weeks before it takes place, the exact details of what is needed get charted out, and with her team the entire event (minus food) is built in Love Soup’s home location.

“This allows me to visualize the space, vessels, utensils, decor and staff needed to transport the whole project from our building to the specific venue. These prebuilds take hours and hours. The final presentation requires preparation for about a week. The team meets with me to go over every tiny detail. They are each responsible for specific pieces of each build.”

She continued, “On event day, we are a massive team operating in controlled chaos so we can present our client with exactly what we promised. There is nothing like watching it all come together after many months of planning. I am like a proud mama. We liken these events to Thanksgiving. Weeks to prepare it, coordinating everyone’s schedules and it’s over in 20 minutes… right after you cut the bird.”

Hill has used Love Soup as an opportunity to be a presence at other local businesses including Penguin City Brewing (St. Patrick’s Day and Oktoberfest events), Woodland Manor (Helms Gala benefiting The Ryan Giambattista HELMS Foundation) and Von Isley Estate in Niles.

“We are lucky enough to live in an area with wonderful small businesses that are very interconnected. We were introduced to Penguin City through one of these small businesses. From here our relationship has grown personally and professionally and we love to be with our Penguin City family.”

Hill fondly looks back at Love Soup’s origins, and while its offerings have spread out to numerous food options, her intentions remain the same.

While the name of the business can be confusing to some, Hill embraces the opportunity to discuss it.

“Far from feeling restricted, I’m actually delighted by people’s curiosity about whether I do more than just soup. This interest sparks a conversation that leads to sharing our complete story, which is something I relish.”

Hill has been married to Geno November since 1995. They have two sons, Marino and Lucky, and four dogs. A lifelong resident of McDonald, Hill graduated from McDonald High School in 1988 and received a bachelor’s degree in general studies and psychology from Youngstown State University.