“Soup Nazi” reopens his store, July 20, 2010

Ali Yeganeh reopened his soup shop, “The Original Soup Man,” at 259-A West 55th street in Manhattan after being closed for 6 years. He was the inspiration for the “Soup Nazi” character in a 1985 episode of the sitcom “Seinfeld.” Yeganeh was born in Iran and then moved to the US. He opened his store in 1984 and never gave up the lease after he closed. He states he was extremely offended by his portrayal as the soupmaker and especially being called the “Soup Nazi” in the “Seinfeld” sitcom. He says he was strict in the way he waited on people so as to keep the line moving efficiently. That is why he was portrayed the way he was. He had a set of rules for ordering his soup which are still printed on the wall above the counter in ten languages. They are: Pick the soup you want; have your money ready; move to the extreme left after ordering. If you don’t stick to the rules: NO SOUP FOR YOU!!

Yeganeh doesn’t allow any “Soup Nazi” talk or mention of “Seinfeld” in his shop. I guess you would be denied any soup if you didn’t follow his rules. Larry Thomas played him in the sitcom and was hilarious! Those were some of the best episodes in the “Seinfeld” history, and there were several of them, so Yeganeh had plenty about which to be offended. Apparently Jerry Seinfeld and some of his crew stopped in one day for lunch weeks after “The Soup Nazi” aired. Yeganeh began using profanity and yelled that the show had ruined his business and demanded an apology. Actually, the show had helped his business! Jerry apologized in his manner which was sarcastic as usual. Yeganeh then yelled “No soup for you!” and kicked them out!

I watched this morning on the “Today” show when they opened the “Soup Man” shop. Meredith Vieira was there as was Reggie Jackson of the Yankees who did the honors by chopping a zucchini in half with a cleaver for the groundbreaking. Peter Alexander, NBC correspondent, was also there and went in to order some soup. He followed the rules exactly and was so cute as he stiffly moved down the line exactly as he should. After he was served, he hesitated a second as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t and just backed out. Maybe he thought someone would yell at him to keep moving! Later he was sitting between a young couple from Norway who were talking and he was responding not having the faintest idea what they were saying! People from all over were there: Norway, Egypt, New Jersey, etc. A very big day. However, Al Yeganeh did not show up and apparently won’t ever be working at the shop except for guest appearances.

I watched an episode of “Seinfeld” this morning that I had taped last night. I laughed all the way through it. I haven’t watched the reruns lately as I’ve seen them all many, many times. But they still can make me laugh. And I still ask myself before making important life decisions: What would Jerry do?