Courts Rule Against Former Soup Shop Owner

The former owner of Funky Ladles, the soup shop that closed in Acorn Alley last month, has pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct and been ordered to pay back wages by a Portage County court in two separate cases.

Randall Durant, 48, of Warren, OH, pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct after being accused of making an offensive statement to a juvenile employed at Tree City Coffee.

Durant was cited for disorderly conduct March 18 after parking a box truck in the drive-thru lane for the coffee shop and blocking access to customers. When asked by an employee of the coffee shop to move the truck Durant made an offensive comment to the juvenile, according to Kent Police.

Property management for Acorn Alley advised police that Durant had already obtained his property from the former soup shop, and he was warned for trespassing, according to police.

He pleaded guilty to the charge March 22.

Several days later, on March 25, a Portage County magistrate ordered Durant to pay $800 in back wages plus interest to a former employee who took Durant to court for not paying her wages during a nine-day period in January 2013, according to Portage County online court records.

Durant reportedly sold his soup business in March to Laziza's owner Mike Awad.