James Gandolfini's Son Sits In Famed 'Sopranos' Booth At Holsten's

Woke up this morning, got myself a photo. Michael Gandolfini, the actor son of late "Sopranos" star James Gandolfini, paid a visit to Holsten's Ice Cream Parlor in Bloomfield, New Jersey recently, and posed for a photo sitting in the very same booth where his dad's HBO TV show famously ended.

35 Places in LA Where You're Likely to Spot Celebrities

A manager at Holsten's told The Daily Meal in a phone call that Gandolfini wasn't shooting scenes in the restaurant. "He just showed up as a customer," the manager said. "It's not the first time he's been here."

The restaurant, a regular stop "Sopranos" tours and an official sponsor of SopranosCon, posted the photo on its Facebook page, and fans of the HBO drama were quick to comment on and share the image.

https://www.facebook.com/637115009758994/posts/1405210219616132?sfns=mo

"Wow ... hope he was feeling his Dad sitting there ... looks just like him ... what a cutie!!!" wrote Kathy Liquori Cianicullo.

And Carl K. Paladino wrote, "Looks so much like his dad. Had the great fortune to meet both of them at Newark airport many years ago. James was such a gracious person with his fans."

It makes sense that some would assume Michael Gandolfini, 18, was there to shoot a scene. He is playing a young Tony Soprano, the mobster role his dad made famous, in a feature film prequel to "The Sopranos" called "Newark," according to Deadline. James Gandolfini was just 51 when he died of a heart attack in Rome in June 2013.

That famous booth was where Tony, wife Carmela, and kids Meadow and A.J. sat in the very last scene of the legendary show, which ran from 1999 to 2007 and won 21 Emmy Awards. The series finale, which aired in 2007, shows the family studying menus in the booth at Holsten's while Journey's 1981 hit song "Don't Stop Believin'" plays.

In his final onscreen moments, a bell rings, Tony looks up from the booth, and the scene cut to black, leaving some to speculate that the mob boss had been killed. Showrunner David Chase told Entertainment Weekly in 2008 that, "there's more than one way of looking at the ending. That's all I'll say."

The booth looks slightly different. as the jukebox shown in the episode is gone, and in its place a plaque reads, "This booth reserved for the Soprano family." Operating since 1939, Holsten's is known for its homemade ice cream and old-fashioned egg creams along with standard diner fare.

On March 14, HBO announced that "Newark," originally called "The Many Saints of Newark," will hit theaters on September 25, 2020. Deadline reports the film is set in the era of the 1960s Newark riots. And while we're waiting on the Sopranos prequel, check out these famous TV hangout spots.