page_title: The Original Soupman
section_title: Franchises
hierarchical_section_title: The Original Soupman / Franchises
caption_attribution_description: English: Soup Kitchen International
context_page_description: The Original Soupman is a chain of soup restaurants originally run by Ali "Al" Yeganeh, modeled after Yeganeh's original restaurant Soup Kitchen International, which was a well-known soup restaurant at 259-A West 55th Street, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
  The 55th Street location, which began operating in 1984, was closed in 2004, with the windows soaped over. Yeganeh, who was born in Iran, kept the lease on the shop while he looked to expand into a broader market. This led to the formation of the Original Soup Man chain and eventually led to the reopening of the Soup Kitchen International location in 2010 under the name "Original Soup Man", like all of Yeganeh's other restaurants.
  In 2017, the chief financial officer of The Original Soupman was indicted for income tax evasion, and the chain went into bankruptcy, which led to all of its stores being closed. Later in 2017, the chain emerged from bankruptcy under new ownership, and it re-opened a physical location in late 2018.
context_section_description: After reopening, "The Original Soup Man" opened franchises in various cities throughout the United States and Canada, including four in Manhattan. The soups were made in Yeganeh's industrial kitchen in Linden, New Jersey. Yeganeh licensed his recipes, name and likeness to the company. Franchises were provided with some 45 soup varieties in 8 lb (3.6 kg) bags available in rotation. Chains participating in subfranchising the soups included Ranch One and Cold Stone Creamery. On March 3, 2008, the first Original Soup Man franchise on a college campus was opened in the Russell House University Union at the University of South Carolina. This venue closed near the end of spring 2011.
  Reportedly, the strictness popularized by the original location need not necessarily be followed by the franchisees, but Yeganeh apparently banned any Soup Nazi references by franchises and their staff while on the job and has strongly encouraged his franchise owners to avoid references to Seinfeld in their promotions. (However, his marketing contains at least two Seinfeld references, including the phrase "Soup for you!" and a mention of the show on the back of his packaged soup offerings.) At the time, Yeganeh accepted media inquiries, but his "media rules" forbade mention of "the 'N' word" (Nazi), personal questions, or follow-up questions. Interviews were conducted only via e-mail.
  Despite Yeganeh's contempt for the Soup Nazi character, it was announced on July 22, 2015 that Soupman, Inc. licensed the image of actor Larry Thomas, who portrayed the "Soup Nazi" character on Seinfeld, to promote Yeganeh's soups across America.
caption: Soup Kitchen International on 55th Street in 2008 after it closed, but with the sign remaining
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