AUBURN - Starting in January, patrons of the Yesteryears Coffee House and Cafe will have to walk around the corner to grab a cup of their favorite soup.

The cafe, well-known for its home-made soup and off-the-bone turkey sandwiches, has been sold to Bev Johnson who has worked as a cook at the restaurant for more than three years.

“She's the one who makes the soups,” said Kathy Naumann, the cafe's original owner. “A lot of the cafe has been in her hands for the past few years anyway. Who else would be a better person for the job?”

Naumann made the decision to sell the cafe and pursue her other love, breeding golden retrievers.

When Johnson heard the news, she worried about what she was going to do if the cafe closed and she no longer had a job.

After talking the problem over with her husband, they decided to try and buy the restaurant.

“One reason I really wanted to stay was because there are so many people who know us for our soups now,” Johnson said. “I know I can still keep it running. I know that I can cook; I have cooked for the past three years.”

Three years ago, Johnson applied for a job at the cafe, but Naumann chose someone else.

After her other employee didn't work out, she went back to the applications to look again. While she was looking at the resumes, Johnson walked into the restaurant with her husband and three children to ask if anyone had been hired, Naumann recalled.

She gave her a chance to start working at the cafe for 10 to 15 hours a week.

“Her body never stopped working. She was never talking on the phone or reading the paper, her mind was completely in her work,” Naumann said. “Eventually she got to be full-time, and now she's buying the place. It's a real success story.”

Johnson already has plans for making the restaurant better during her time as owner.

While the menu is staying essentially the same, the cafe will be moving into Metcalf Plaza on Genesee Street and changing its name to the Underground Cafe, Johnson said.

The new location is much larger than the current one, and it is on the main street which should be better for business, Johnson believes. Since the offices stay open later in that area, she plans on keeping the store open until 4 or even 5 p.m. to accommodate them.

“It's just as cozy up there, and everything's coming with me. Everyone's really excited for me and the plans I have made,” Johnson said of the customers who had a negative initial reaction to the news that the cafe was being sold.

We were disappointed Cathy O'Hara, a regular at the cafe, first said. “But since Johnson bought it, presumably, they will have the same good food as they have now,” O'Hara added.

Johnson officially takes ownership of the cafe Dec. 1.

The shop will remain open in its current location until the end of December while renovations are completed at the new location. Over the holiday break, the restaurant will be moved up the street to reopen on Jan. 5.