My sister, Sarah, graduated from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island in 1999. After that, she, like many chefs before her, started off her career by cooking in various restaurants, but she eventually worked her way up to head chef of a restaurant in Bellows Falls, VT. After a tragic fire there which resulted in the demolition of the building, she regrouped and created Harvest Moon Catering in 2004 with her then-husband, Ryan, and his brother, Reid. They were successful and grew their staff and clientele, until 2009 when they created another successful LLC, Smokin’ Bowls, which is a soup shack (get the name twist? They’re hot bowls of soup!). You could find this shack on the side of the road on Route 103 off Exit 6 on I-91. It was intended to cater to (no pun intended there) the skiers and snowboarders on their way to or from Okemo Mountain, Stratton Mountain, and Killington, all in Vermont.
Soon after 2009, Sarah was left to handle the increasing demand almost entirely by herself, with a smattering of help here and there throughout the years. She would find people to help do food prep for a while, to wash dishes, and to work the shack as needed, but people come and go as they do in the food industry. It’s been very challenging for her but rewarding to maintain her business. She works long days at her commercial kitchen in Bellows Falls but also has to work her own shack when needed. Plus, she often drives to Massachusetts to buy food supplies at a large food warehouse during the day. Needless to say, a lot of time and effort has been put into her vision!
Sarah (along with Ryan and Reid), came up with some great slogans for Smokin’ Bowls t-shirts and sweatshirts over the years, such as “Smokin’ Bowls is not a crime, just damn good soup,” “Vermont runs on Smokin’ Bowls,” and “Souper Troopers.” The inspiration for that last one was from the 2001 movie, Super Troopers, which I’m sure most people are aware of this movie by this point. It takes place in Vermont, even though it was filmed in New York for tax purposes. The sequel, Super Troopers 2 (2018), was filmed in Massachusetts for similar reasons, however, a couple of the actors paid a visit to Vermont before the 2018 movie came out, which was really neat. In the photos below, you can see Kevin Heffernan (Farva) and Steve Lemme (Mac) from the Super Troopers movie hanging out with Jason in his trapper/ushanka hat. Fun fact: Super Troopers 3 is currently in production!
Jason became affiliated with Smokin’ Bowls in 2017 by helping with food prep and festivals but also had a more prominent role when he and Sarah started Botanical Beverages, plus he helped open the Smokin’ Bowls Headquarters restaurant in Proctorsville, VT, in 2022. Unfortunately, the restaurant was only open for around six months before major flooding ruined the restaurant, along with many other homes and businesses in the area and other towns in Vermont. Nowadays, just the Smokin’ Bowls soup shack is open, and is several miles down the road from its original location. The address for that is 35 Sylvan Road, Chester, VT 05143, right off Route 103. Sarah still does catering under the Smokin’ Bowls LLC, as the Harvest Moon Catering LLC no longer exists.
The shack menu has also expanded plenty since 2009 and now includes (depending on the time of year) nachos, sandwiches, ice cream, homemade lemonade of varying flavors, hot dogs, and healthy salads, and various other rotating items. The most popular soups/chilis are the Cheech ‘n’ Chong chili, west African peanut soup (my personal fav. I must get this every time I visit), curried butternut bisque, bacon corn chowder, and tomato cheddar, as some examples. Festivals that you might find Smokin’ Bowls at include the Vermont Renaissance Faire at the Champlain Valley Fairgrounds, the Southern Vermont Flannel Fest at the Rockingham Hill Farm outside of Bellows Falls, VT, Old Home Days in Bellows Falls in August (incredible fireworks display every year), and the Saxtons River Fourth of July parade, in Saxtons River, VT. You may find her at other festivals as well!
Harvest Moon Catering was mentioned in the Keene Sentinel in 2005, here, and the Smokin’ Bowls Headquarters restaurant in The Vermont Journal in 2023, here. The shack has mentions in other articles as well. Smokin’ Bowls does not have its own website, however you can stay up to date on menus, special food items, festivals, and hours, on their Facebook site, here. Currently during the summer, the shack is open Friday through Sunday, 11:00am-7:00pm. Hours and days open are typically expanded during the colder months. The next time you’re in that area, pop that address into your GPS and swing by to say hi to some friendly faces and eat some delicious food!
Smokin’ Bowls was and still is wildly successful, as many patrons talk up the soup and always come back for more. Sarah does not advertise on any platforms, so word of mouth, her Facebook page, and simply driving by the shack are how people know about it. There have been countless times that I’ve casually brought up Smokin’ Bowls in conversations, and I often hear people say, “oh yeah, I’ve heard of that place! I’ve been meaning to stop by there!”
Thank you for listening, and happy eating! Next week, I’ll talk about the most popular ice cream in the world, created and stationed right here in Vermont.
Justin
Still waiting on Smokin’ Bowls West Coast.