It may appear to be just a restaurant booth to some, but to others, it’s a part of New Jersey’s identity and history. That’s because it was made famous on the final episode of “The Sopranos.” The owners of the restaurant are now putting it up for sale — and it could rake in big bucks. NBC New York’s Adam Harding reports.
The booth from the final scene of "The Sopranos" sold for $82,600. As Tony, Silvio or Paulie might say, "Oof, Madone!"
That was the winning bid for the piece of Garden State memorabilia from Holsten's in Bloomfield, New Jersey, in an eBay auction that closed Monday.
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The listing for the original booth where Tony Soprano and his family sat during the closing minutes of the HBO show's 2007 finale was first posted by the owners of Holsten's on Wednesday night with a starting price of $3,000. In the booth's first day at auction, the price exceeded $50,000. It went on to receive a total of 238 bids from 49 bidders.
One lucky fan now has a new place to sit down and eat some gabagool.
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The booth includes both seats, the table and the divider wall with the plaque that reads, "Reserved for the Sopranos Family." It was where Tony Soprano and his family was seated in the series finale -- spoiler alert -- when the screen abruptly cut to black, ambiguously leaving viewers to decide whether Tony was killed or not.
The booth at the old-fashioned ice cream parlor has remained a popular destination and photo op for fans who traveled to sit in the very spot where one of television's most memorable and controversial moments was filmed.
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Many waited in line Sunday to get one final look at Tony's iconic final seat.
Chris Carley, co-owner of Holsten's, told NBC on Thursday they decided to put it to auction when renovation was needed because the dining room booths installed at the eatery in the mid-1970s were no longer sturdy.
"It wasn’t a choice we took lightly or wanted to do, it was something we were sort of forced into doing," Carley said.
The renovation began Monday, with the burgundy booth cushions and yellow Formica tabletop replaced with a nearly identical replica, he adds.
"It's actually not going to look any different," Carley said. "You'd have a hard time realizing that we changed everything...I'm sorry to see it go, but it's just time."
