I hope that the city is supporting these new businesses in some way while they struggle to get their legs.

I hope EVERYBODY is supporting these new businesses while they get their legs!

I'm sure this place isn't the only one struggling.

maybe there are other reasons why this place is struggling.

It's unfortunate, I really like that place. And construction wouldnt stop me. There hours did though. I just never was near enough during the day to partake.

The construction has to have a terrible effect though. And the lack of students doesn't help, but they should have planned accordingly for that. I'm not sure if they knew in advance about the construction though.

But think of all the wonderful extra traffic they'll get once the construction is done! They'll be ideally situated. If only they could have just held out thru the rough patch. I kinda don't see them coming back.

It's sort of a tough spot, with other eateries very nearby too. And for a soup and sandwich shop, they weren't exactly cheap. I think maybe Paxton above is right. It may be a mixed bag.

Their not there. Sorry

I think 3 months of no parking and no students is more than a rough patch. It's not like they have to worry about someone wanting to come in and take over the lease. It would have been much better if the parking garage was the first structure completed. If those office buildings open first - it's going to be just as discouraging to potential customers.

I walked there with my three daughters about a month ago. I thought $27 and some change was a little pricey for just some soup and a drink for each of us and we didn't really like the soups that we got so I ended up needing to feed everyone again making it even more expensive. The only reason I haven't gone back is because of the prices. If they were a little more affordable I'd of walked back again to see if the other flavors were more to our liking but like with most people right now, money is tight.

Not long ago I believe I read here on Kent Patch that there has been an increase in tickets being given out because of lack of parking due to construction. That may play a part in this. No one wants to risk a ticket for some soup.

I think the Zoupwerks/Funky Ladles prices were fine. Even on the low side. Although a lot of the soups were too salty for my taste, it costs more to use fresh ingredients and pay people to prepare items from scratch. You get what you pay for. If you want cheap, go to Subway and let them open some soup from a can for you.

To be brutally honest however, the last time I went into the shop, I watched the owner yell and belittle an employee in front of a full room. I cannot speak to what the employee may have done, but it made for an uncomfortable meal and I didn't want to go on supporting someone who treated people in this manner. What the employee did couldn't have been that bad since I've walked by the shop recently and still seen them working. I've heard other people have had experiences of this nature also.

Lastly, I think it's worth noting that this is a seasonal business. When it's 93 degrees out, who thinks "a hot cup of a cream-based Bacon Cheese Burger Chowdah sounds pretty good."? Construction is an issue without a doubt, but Laziza, the coffee shop and outfitter have all survived. This is all just a fact of small business- not every place is going to make it.

I hope the business does return as long as the owner treats his employees with respect.

i'd say this is a poor way for a business owner to interact with their customers...if someone doesn't like your food or whatever berating them wont help. and, as for the food...i had the pulled pork once and it was bland, maybe a lil pricey, but i would have bought it again if it wasn't so blah. i even liked the decor/layout of the place, but after seeing this display of childishness i likely won't ever be back.

Thank you, Randy Durant for ensuring that I will never need to bother setting foot inside your restaurant when you do open it back up. If this is the way you talk to your customers and potentials customers, there is no reason for me to waste my money in your business. I am part of a couple of groups that regularly meet in Kent establishments and I'll be sure that my group meetings never happen there either.

Ok then, I will save my trip and I'll advise my large network of friends and family to do the same. No I don't think 27 for one adult and three small kids is expensive for a nice meal, but were just talking soup here for lunch. And it certainly did happen, and I have pictures of my kids taking a few bites of the soup. Well at least we no longer need to listen to rumors about how aggressive and rude the owner is anymore. We all know first hand now. And as for McDonalds... Always had friendly service even it it was just spending a buck on a drink.

Joseph Hughes, you just made my night.

That is a shame.

After reading the comments of the owner I don't believe I'll ever go there either. Just because someone offends you, as a business owner you should smile and tell them to have a nice day.

After reading the comments of the owner I don't believe I'll ever go there either. Just because someone offends you, as a business owner you should smile and tell them to have a nice day. The name calling and stereotyping and all is not a good way to do business. All I can say is, good luck with that! I will not be coming in for your reopening! I did stop by for a coca-cola one day and have to agree it was overpriced so now I'll be going to any other establishment that sells soft drinks to go. By the way, I was born and raised in Ohio and we speak the truth and can take a little constructive criticism and learn from it.

I like how any less then positive comment is excused as not being posted by a real person or a real customer. Maybe thinking that makes it easier to treat people like they don't count. Most us use our real names here, and a lot of us know each other. Kent isn't exactly a huge place. Word gets around quickly. I've already seen this article and the owners comments discussed in a few of the community groups I'm involved with via facebook groups where we communicate, on friends walls, and have gotten personal messages to the effect of "wow I can't believe the way that guy talked to you" or "I'm never eating somewhere that the owner treats customers like that". I think dignity is deserved no matter how the communication comes across. In person, by phone, or even on a community forum like Kent Patch. I appreciate your apology and attempt to explain your behavior but I'm not personally interested in awkward confrontation in hopes of getting a free meal or a gift card. You can blow me off as not not being a real customer or person which is fine, because me, community members that know me, and my friends and family know otherwise.

I also am a business owner downtown, and have eaten quite a few times at Zoupwerks. I have found some of the food there enjoyable, overall however I feel that it has been hit or miss. The prices do seem a bit steep for soup at lunch especially when it's on a day that the food is in the miss category. Having said that, I am always in support of a small business trying to compete with corporate giants and understand fully the hardships of running a small business in that environment. So, I am willing to overlook a lot of stuff to support local small business, and allow them to work out the kinks of new ownership. Having said that, I have to say how strongly offended I am by the comments left by the owner. This is a small town no matter how much construction is going on, and the attacking of customers and potential customers is inexcusable. These "trolls" as you like to call them are certainly residents of the area, why else would they be on Kent patch? Think about your customer base, college students and local residents of Kent, these "dope smoking trolls" you refer to are 85% of your clientele. I have never witnessed the belligerent behavior in the restaurant, but after the comments left by the owner there is no doubt that it's true. In the service industry, it is not on the customer to appease you. After the aggressive statements posted who would ever go in to discuss issues they have with this business? The only hater I see seems to be the owner, look around it's Kent.

God bless you Sarah.

Randy, with all due respect, your apology seems somewhat insincere and too-little-too-late. You're basically saying "sorry if you were offended" when you resorted to the same kinds of petty attacks you accuse typical "trolls" (your word) of using. And when you quickly and angrily deny the anecdotes about your treatment of patrons and employees, yet then act as you have on here AND places like Facebook, whose side do you expect the rest of us to believe?

Also, your conception of who is and who isn't a customer just isn't correct. Everyone, whether they have already frequented your establishment or if they MAY, is a customer. At least a potential one. And you've done nothing in this space and others to convince either your existing customers or those who may be interested in eating at your restaurant that you care about their business and are willing to address their concerns with civility.

I love Kent. I've lived here since 2004 and, since then, I've frequented numerous downtown restaurants. I support those who offer great food and great customer service, voting with my dollar. I speak with friends about great meals and gush on social media about positive experiences. I can think of several downtown restaurants who do truly special things on social media, including above-and-beyond customer interaction, exclusive specials, Instagram photos of great product offerings, etc.

Yet in this very small town that thrives on word-of-mouth and personal service, you've done nothing but attack both people who have frequented and who may be interested in frequenting your establishment. And when you've been called on it by real people, some of whom aren't using pseudonyms, you've excused it all as the passionate response of someone from a city apparently known for hotheaded online commenters.

In short: You've done more to harm your business in this forum and others than any closed parking area could have ever accomplished. If you want to be sorry, be sorry to yourself for hurting your business like you have. Unforced errors are not simply the bane of a tennis player's existence. They are now yours as well.

I always thought the customer was always right? I too believe the owner posted some rather childish responses to criticism here. I've eaten at Zoupwerks, the soup was good, but it was always lukewarm at best. I'd rather have a soup that is hot and then I can let it cool down. Something that has been prepared earlier in the day and then is kept lukewarm doesn't appeal to me. Let alone the childish behavior of the business owner.

I love Funky Ladles. I've really enjoyed the food, and wanted to see it succeed because I think Kent deserves local businesses that are "Kent" businesses (especially restaurants). And I was very disappointed to see they were shutting down for the summer. But having read through the comments on this page, as well as the unprofessional manner of the owner in replying to some of them, I can't say I'll be going back. I go to places like Popped because I love the owners and genuinely want to see them succeed. I can't say I feel the same way about Randy from Funky Ladles anymore. Randy: I wish the you best, but I won't be a part of any future success.

Well, it appears the moderators deleted every single one of Randy Durant's comments -- except for one.
Good grief, Patch Moderators. Why are you protecting this business owner by blowing out every single post of his (although I can understand the "troll" one which you were slow to respond to, unlike other posts).

You're becoming a bigger joke than Randy himself.

Hey readers, opinions are always welcome, but let's avoid profanity and direct personal attacks. And make sure to abide by our terms of use. http://kent.patch.com/terms

I've eaten there twice. The first time it was very enjoyable and the food was good. I asked for a cup of ice with my soda and after much discussion, the staff gave me a cup of ice. I brought a friend with me the second time and had a very unenjoyable experience. The same soup I ordered on my previous visit tasted very different this time around. When I again asked for a cup of ice, I was made to feel horrible for asking by the staff. The girl was very rude in telling me, "We don't do that here so NO." I have not been back

Regardless of my less than stellar experience, I do hate to see a business in downtown Kent struggling. I hope that the importance of customer service is introduced to the staff when and if it does re-open. I'm willing ot give it one more time. If I have the same experience as last time, I will not be back.

Furthermore, I witnessed this business owner berate a construction worker prior to the business opening last year. I think the excuse of "being from Boston" is a cop out for bad business practice. I am a Kentite, a KSU alum and I chose to move back to this area 15 years ago. I have money to spend downtown, but I am reluctant to spend my money in an establishment like this...

Just my two cents worth

Just an FYI I did not delete any of Randy's comments.

Tom Tucker you should post a link to the screen shots for late comers.

I've got them all, too.

Readers,
Opinions are cool, reviews are cool.
However, allegations were made in a recent comment that were deleted for violation of terms of use.
We're going to have to put this post on a delay for comments so we can review them to make sure no further violations of our terms are made. Thank you for your patience.

Is this a witch hunt? Stop for a moment, everyone. Maybe the owner is under a ton of stress and is on the edge. It happens to people (I'm sure you've all been there yourselves). Consider this: First he had to open the business (no small feat). Next he had to go to all kinds of lengths and expense to change the shop name and all of the marketing. Then he is struggling trying to keep the doors open due to the construction. That is a lot of stress.

I don't know the guy, so I'm truly not on anyone's side here. Yes, bitterly snapping at people is a mistake, but maybe he has just been pushed to the limit.

STOP FOR A MINUTE. Take this discussion and this moment in time as an opportunity to work through this bitterness, regardless of where it is coming from. Maybe if that happened, EVERYONE would sleep better tonight knowing that this little microcosm of people in the little town of Kent could take a heated situation and COMPLETELY turn it around. How proud could we be of ourselves! We ask our politicians to be change, but can we be that change ourselves....all of us, right here, right now who are either reading or contributing to this discussion?

I CHALLENGE everyone to turn this into something positive and to mend fences - like a lesson to show the entire town how to sincerely and truly work through an issue.

the proof is in the screenshots. they exist on imgur. patch keeps deleting the comments i post so you likely wont see this one either. protecting a business owner who attacks his customer base.

so patch will let "funky ladies" continue to comment and clean up their image, but not others? sounds like nepotism

Connie, Randy should have you do all the talking. You paint a much nicer picture then what was shown to us last night.

If I understand this correctly, Randy's comments were deleted because of his insults, accusations, and downright name calling? While I understand that they hedge the Patch TOS for comments, removing them also helped Randy out because now he looks innocent to those who are just now finding this page and the rest of us looking like a rowdy band waving their pitchforks and torches at poor Randy. It would have done the community a far better service to leave the comments intact.

@Randy While some of us may not be 'customers' per your rather skewed definition, we ARE your community and every single person whom you termed a troll was a potential customer even using your definition. Your actions, however, have eliminated that possibility. Funny, this brings to mind something I learned in my training at Sea World when I started working there. They told us that for every negative customer service experience, a business loses 25 potential customers due to how the word would spread through that disappointed person's personal network. This was before the internet, Facebook groups, and blogs. You are the business owner, I'll let you do the math.

No offense, Kami, but in addition to teaching my child and those around me basic manners, I also intend to teach them the value of their dollar. Letting them watch me spend my hard earned money at an establishment where the owner has gone out of his way to berate, insult, and belittle his community members and customers is a terrible lesson to teach my child. Yes, people get out of control and lose their tempers but this isn't one of those cases. Randy offered at best, an apology that insulted even more people and a ploy to get people into his store. All of the diplomatic speaking has come from his partner, not Randy. If this incident is a lesson on pride for anyone, it certainly isn't on the side of the customers and community.

I sympathize with your plight and wish failure on nobody's business. With that said, the way your partner treated current and potential customers of your establishment is inexcusable and beyond disrespectful. Should people have called him names? Of course not, but there were many respectful and constructively critical comments in this thread that were met with the very same vitriol that the owner rightly criticized. Being passionate about your business is great. Being insulting is not. And it's our right as consumers to patronize the businesses we feel offer a worthwhile product and also whose proprietors treat us as patrons with respect. I know plenty of people who will now be voting with their dollars and taking their business to one of downtown Kent's numerous other eateries. And it's not our fault for doing so.

This thread is very confusing to read because many people seem to be responding to comments that are not there. Can someone explain what is going on here?

Would somebody PLEASE tweet or post screen shots on Facebook? I had a similar interaction with Randy on Facebook about six months ago.

I told him he wouldn't be in business another twelve months and he is proving me right!

Here are Randy's comments: http://imgur.com/8xEQW

I flagged some of the comments as inappropriate to the Patch Administrator. Discussing why the restaurant closes and the quality of the service and food is fine. However, when people start using fowl language and get off topic in a hostile and inappropriate manner, it has to be deleted.

Basically what you missed was Randy responding to the posts above by calling people nasty stereotypes I'm unable to repeat. He also dismissed any less then perfect comment as being made by fake posters and trolls despite the fact that most us use our real names. In my first response in the thread, I shared my experience and simply said I thought it was a little pricey for what it was we didn't like the selections we made that day but was considering coming back to try something different. I was told not to come back and to take myself to McDonalds (in more colorful language). He also said repeatedly that anyone who wasn't directly in front of him in his store wasn't a customer and that only people who came in to confront him face to face deserved to be treated with dignity. This all happened last night and he came back this morning with a half hearted apology where he restated his opinion that all negative posters were trolls and no one not in front of him was considered a customer. Then all of his comments disappeared and his partner came on to tell us that he isn't really like that and gave us a breakdown of her severe medical issues. Those comments then disappeared too. Now here we are with several confused new readers. I'd love a link to the original screen shots or a copy of the original conversation before the deletes. I'm not sure if I'm able to post a email address, but I can be found on Facebook under the same name if anyone is willing to share them.

Joseph Hughes, You rock! Thank You!

i tried to post the link earlier, it got deleted. glad to see it back up here.

Mr. Paxton, the Kent Patch is a forum for discussion not for name calling, foul language, and stereo typing. I flagged the comments to the administrator who then agreed with me and removed the inflamatory comments. Our children check the Kent Patch as well and unless it is restricted to adults only, that type of talk is not welcome.

The censorship was left to the administrator. The ADMINISTRATOR is the one that removed the posts.

Man, I was expecting the screen shots of Randy's "meltdown" to be so much better. Dude seems fine. Gonna try some of that Lobstah Chowdah first chance I get, just to get the Dope Smoking Trolls mad!

ive had to deal with randy on equipment and he is the worst person i have ever delt with in my entire life. i will be at his auction buying stuff for nothing when he goes belly up!