The Bow Market, a two-story outdoor marketplace in Somerville, is usually filled with small businesses and food vendors who sell homemade trinkets, used books, records, and soap bars, circling a communal center with seating for restaurant-goers and shoppers alike. But last Saturday, the space became an all-out buffet for soup enthusiasts.

On Feb. 15, the market had its annual four-hour Soup Fest. Starting at noon, the quiet market quickly filled with people who sipped on broths while browsing the various ma and pa shops. 

Participants who buy tickets receive “soup passports” that get marked off as participants walk from booth to booth. The variety of restaurants provides many soups like tomato, tortilla, and cruzado. The festival has become a saving grace for small businesses struggling to get by during winter.

Melissa Stefanini owns Buenos, an empanada shop in the market that opened in 2018. She mentions that Soup Fest usually leads to peak sales for all vendors involved that month, despite the challenging winter season for most restaurants.

“February is tough, and soup is awesome,” Stefanini said. “It’s classic. Restaurants are hard enough, and winter is always hard in Boston, especially this year, so we’re just basically trying to pay rent in any way that we can.” 

Similarly to last year, the festival had a large turnout with dozens of people, which was a pleasant surprise. Stefanini says it’s hard selling tickets for anything nowadays, and yet Soup Fest sold out against all odds. For businesses like hers, temperatures have a huge influence on turnout. 

“The weather has been particularly bad. I’ve been pummeled by snow and constant, bad weather. [Our business] is super weather dependent, so it’s even harder here,” Stefanini said. 

It’s not just the restaurants that get traffic, but all the small businesses people browse through while warming up. 

Cambridge locals Alessandra Cancalosi and Heather Thomas heard about the festival through the Bow Market email list. They often come out to see events and support specific businesses they love. 

After mentioning their love of tomato soup and calling the event “fabulous,” Cancalosi commented, “It’s nice to celebrate, eating some great soup with some great businesses out here.”

And while it’s only Soup Fest’s second year, they believe the event should become an annual tradition. 

“We’ll definitely keep doing it,” Stefanini said. “Besides just being able to have numbers and sales, it’s kind of cool just to see everyone come out through the snow.”