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Al Yeganeh, who rose to fame thanks to being portrayed as a "Soup Nazi" on a 1995 episode of "Seinfeld," reopened his store on Tuesday, much to the glee of soup fans and devotees of the hit TV sitcom alike. According to Reuters, about 100 people lined up in the 90-degree heat -- some for as long as an hour -- just to get a taste of Yeganeh's famed soup.
Both on the TV show and in real life, Yegenah -- who self-branded himself "The Original SoupMan" -- is as known for his strict ordering process as he was for his delicious soups. For 20 years, starting in 1984, Yeganeh was the owner of Soup Kitchen International on 55th Street near 8th Avenue in Manhattan. Riding the popularity of his "Seinfeld" portrayal, he shut down the popular business in 2004 so he could pursue franchise opportunities. Yeganeh still owns the rights to "The Original SoupMan" brand today.
"He's still the heart of the company," Bob Bertrand, "The Original SoupMan" president, told Reuters. "We cannot change the recipes, we do not change the recipes, every time we want to have a new soup he develops it for us."
Six years later, his shop is officially reopening where it all started, 259A West 55th Street in New York City, under the name The Original SoupMan. Just don't ask for free bread, please.
Even before "Seinfeld," his reputation was so well-known that Yeganeh was mentioned by a character in the 1993 movie "Sleepless in Seattle" as "the meanest guy in the world, but he makes the best soup you've ever eaten."
"The Soup Nazi" episode from "Seinfeld" originally aired on November 2, 1995. Since then, that episode (as well as pretty much every other episode of "Seinfeld") has long-lived on in almost constant syndication and countless references. In the episode, George Costanza has his soup revoked after asking for free bread; Elaine Benes is banned for two years after comparing the Soup Nazi to Al Pacino; Jerry's girlfriend Sheila (Alexandra Wentworth) is asked to leave the store for public displays of affection
Larry Thomas, who played the "Soup Nazi" and based the character on Omar Sharif in "Lawrence of Arabia," was nominated for an Emmy for his performance. Thomas reprised the role in the series finale, where it was revealed that the character's name was Yev Kasem.
For his part, Yeganeh has never been happy (at least publicly) about his portrayal on "Seinfeld." On the "Seinfeld" Season 7 DVD bonus materials, writer Spike Feresten recounts a story in which the cast walked into Soup Kitchen International and were kicked out after Yeganeh demanded an apology from Jerry Seinfeld. He even went so far as to ban Seinfeld from his shop (much as he did Elaine in the show). The ban didn't stop Seinfeld from stopping by The Original SoupMan shop last week, though.
"A car pulled up, the window came down and Jerry stuck his head out and said 'you really ought to take care of that guy, he's very important' and he smiled," Bertrand told Reuters.
Yeganeh didn't show up for the grand re-opening on Tuesday, for the sake of those who did show up, let's hope they didn't compare his looks to Al Pacino's. Who-ah!
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