http://www.nypost.com/11212000/entertainment/16591.htm
SOUP NAZI' SET TO RESUME BISQUE BUSINESS Tuesday,November 21,2000
By WILLIAM J. GORTA
Don't panic, soup and "Seinfeld" fans.
Just as the city's soup-withdrawal pangs were giving way to alarm, The Post found Al Yeganeh hard at work at Soup Kitchen International, prepping the famous tiny West 55th Street shop for its winter reopening.
The man lampooned on Seinfeld as the "Soup Nazi" couldn't say exactly when the public might again enjoy his loveless ladling, but he expected to be open in around 10 days.
"I want to take my time and do it right," he said.
The broth baron expects to lose 12 to 15 pounds - weight he gained relaxing in Europe over the summer - during the first few weeks of work, especially now that he'll be eating his own cooking, which he claims aids weight reduction.
He also hopes to cash in on his notoriety by hawking T-shirts and other goods - maybe even soup - to his far-flung legion of fans.
"I'm trying to develop soup that you can sell over the Internet," said the chowder chef. "It's very tough to keep up the quality when you're shipping it."
His Web site, www.therealsoupman.com, isn't up yet, but he promises it will be working soon.
The first items available, he said, will be T-shirts listing his infamous rules.
The consomm� commandments will be offered in four languages: French, Japanese, Hebrew and English.
The souvenir shirts also will be emblazoned "as seen on Seinfeld" with the comic's name crossed out.
Yeganeh, who became a New York institution after actor Larry Thomas played a grumpy counterman doling out abuse and soup in equal measure, has no use for the creator of the show that brought him fame.
"Everyone is making money [from the portrayal] except me," he lamented, "including the chairman of the clowns, Jerry the creep."
Despite a prediction last year that Seinfeld would have "messed-up" kids, the soupster is keeping his own counsel following the Election Day birth of baby Sascha to Jerry and Jessica.
"I don't want to say," he said. "It's a delicate matter."
He's only slightly more talkative about the second-most important Election Day event.
"I was away, I wasn't even watching," he said of the furor in Florida. While he wouldn't say which candidate he supported, he predicted confidently, "Bush will win."
Enjoy Joe