NEW YORK — The soup stand that inspired the “Soup Nazi” episode on “Seinfeld” reopened in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday, six years after its famously brusque owner, Al Yeganeh, shut it down and licensed his recipes to a franchising company. More than 100 people were waiting in line for the noon reopening of the tiny storefront.
Much about the shop was the same as in the days before “Seinfeld” made the place famous, including its strict ordering rules, now posted in nine languages.
“THE LINE MUST BE KEPT MOVING. Pick the soup you want! Have your money ready! Move to the extreme left after ordering!”
But some things are different. Yeganeh neither owns nor operates the store now. Like other Original SoupMan stores around the country, it is a franchise, although company president Robert Bertrand said Yeganeh remains involved in the business — there is even a web cam that allows Yeganeh to keep tabs on the place, he said. The Associated Press; AP file photo
