NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WKBW) — It's a sad week for Barbara Gauchat, owner of Soup Lady, as the last bowls of soup are filled before the North Tonawanda business closes for good on Thursday.
The Soup Lady at 412 Diner opened in January of 2015, taking over a small train car turned restaurant on Oliver Street with just about a dozen seats.
"It really has been an unbelievable journey," Gauchat said. "They [the customers] have been the best. It's just going to be hard, very hard."
Gauchat says she planned on making soup there until she was 80, but a sudden, roughly 600% hike in rent changed this 72-year-old's plans.
"It went from $175 to $1,000 per month, and that's just not something I could do," Gauchat said. "I was paying $175, which is incredibly low; however, I was responsible for everything. If an electrician had to be called, I had to pay for it. If a plumber had to be called, I had to pay for it. I put in a hot water tank. I spent a lot of money here."
WATCH: 'Sad to see her go': Soup Lady Diner in North Tonawanda to close on Thursday
Rather than harp on the reason she's leaving early, Gauchat is remembering her favorite parts of this train car, her customers.
"It's small," she said. "You can't really escape me; you talk to everybody."
"I wasn't a huge soup fan until I came here," Ashley Jackson said. "We're sad to see her go. It's a shame she's getting pushed out."
"I'm going to be sad, missing her," Laurie Mahoney said. "We're going to miss Barb for sure and the soup."
The shop will be open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.
