Sue Fine — founder and owner of Soup’s On, the popular Main Street gathering spot — died last month in November. She was 82.
Carole Sue Coulon was born in Boston, and grew up in the Hotel Vendome. She worked there after school and during summers, learning the “people skills, guts and stamina” that helped her when she opened Soup’s On — a “country kitchen” — in 1978.
Sue’s son Peter recalls watching proudly as his mother “moved heaven and earth” to serve grateful customers wonderful dishes, made with fresh, local ingredients.
Peter Fine and his mother Sue
There was always something delicious cooking at home too, he says. Friends often came around for “the food and the fun.”
At the time he craved spaghetti and meatballs — basic food his friends’ mothers made. But as he grew up, he says, “I realized how lucky I was to have someone instill the passion of good food in me.”
His mother was “a courageous and tireless entrepreneur, and a constant body in motion. The outpouring of love and stories that have flown freely since her passing have centered on her indomitable positive spirit, style and grace, along with her trademark ever-present smile and sense of humor.”
Sue Fine
Sue and her late husband David lived in Westport and Weston, and loved New England, particularly Boston and Nantucket. They were original investors and active part ownwers in Nantucket’s famed 21 Federal restaurant. Sue created and operated 21 Federal Specialties, offering takeout food for vacationers.
She also obtained her realtor’s license, and was a resource for anyone wishing to buy or rent on the island.
Sue and David moved to Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida in 2004.
“Sue was a tenacious believer that hard work, grit and gumption would get you far, and passed those traits on to her children,” her obituary says.
Peter — a restaurateur and real estate consultant — recently opened Milestone in Georgetown, Connecticut. Sue was a proud investor.
Peter Fine and his mother Sue, outside his new restaurant Milestone. The photo was taken last summer.
Sue’s son Bill is president and general manager of WCVB-TV, Channel 5 Boston. Her daughter Kim is a mentor and teacher at Firewood Academy in Homer, Alaska.
Sue is also survived by 7 grandchildren, and her dog Buster.
She will be buried with her husband privately at sea, off the coast of their beloved Nantucket, this summer.
Donations may be made in Sue Fine’s name to The Home for Little Wanderers — an organization she first supported as a child — which provides services for at-risk children in Eastern Massachusetts. Click here, or mail to 10 Guest Street, Boston, MA 02135.
I spent so much time at that restaurant on Main Street enjoying the onion soup, salad with green goddess dressing and warm rolls — ahhhh yummm!