Holsten's Ice Cream, Chocolate & Restaurant
Ice cream shop · Brookdale ·
Old-school ice cream parlor, diner, & candy shop with Sopranos history
Old-school ice cream parlor, diner, & candy shop with Sopranos history
"Known for being the location of the final episode of The Sopranos, Holsten’s Brookdale Confectionary in New Jersey currently has the booth from that fated scene up for sale on eBay; as of today the bidding has reached more than $63,000 and bidding ends this Monday." - Emma Orlow
"At first glance, Holsten’s looks like a relic from the bygone era of soda fountains. But beyond its vintage signage, decor, and classic menu, the unassuming ice cream parlor and diner is part of a very important piece of television history: It was the setting for the final, controversial scene of The Sopranos. The scene, which ends ambiguously, is long debated in fan circles. What was the fate of mob boss Tony Soprano? What happened in the booth where he sat with his wife, Carmela, and son, AJ, after the screen abruptly cut to black? The world may never know. But you can ponder alternate theories as you sit in your own booth and order the same onion rings Tony did. Long before the spot was cemented in pop culture history, New Jersey residents came to Holsten’s from all over the state for their homemade desserts. First opened under the name Strubbe’s Ice Cream Parlor in 1939, it went through several names and owners before ending up as Holsten’s in the 1950s. The current owners say that the secret to their success is that they keep everything old fashioned and that they continue to make their chocolate and ice cream themselves. After the airing of the series finale of The Sopranos, however, fans of the show flocked to the ice cream parlor from all over the country. When James Gandolfini, who played the character Tony Soprano, passed away in 2013, the booth where the Soprano family sat was sectioned off for several days. Today, you can slide into the booth, still marked “Reserved for the Soprano family” to take a picture." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
"At first glance, Holsten’s looks like a relic from the bygone era of soda fountains. But beyond its vintage signage, decor, and classic menu, the unassuming ice cream parlor and diner is part of a very important piece of television history: It was the setting for the final, controversial scene of The Sopranos. The scene, which ends ambiguously, is long debated in fan circles. What was the fate of mob boss Tony Soprano? What happened in the booth where he sat with his wife, Carmela, and son, AJ, after the screen abruptly cut to black? The world may never know. But you can ponder alternate theories as you sit in your own booth and order the same onion rings Tony did. Long before the spot was cemented in pop culture history, New Jersey residents came to Holsten’s from all over the state for their homemade desserts. First opened under the name Strubbe’s Ice Cream Parlor in 1939, it went through several names and owners before ending up as Holsten’s in the 1950s. The current owners say that the secret to their success is that they keep everything old fashioned and that they continue to make their chocolate and ice cream themselves. After the airing of the series finale of The Sopranos, however, fans of the show flocked to the ice cream parlor from all over the country. When James Gandolfini, who played the character Tony Soprano, passed away in 2013, the booth where the Soprano family sat was sectioned off for several days. Today, you can slide into the booth, still marked “Reserved for the Soprano family” to take a picture." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
"Holsten's in Bloomfield, New Jersey, [where the infamous final scene of the series takes place and which also appears in the film] hadn't really changed much over time. The owners had some historic photographs that we could reference. But the frustrating thing there was that there are buildings across the street that needed almost no work for the period but, if you're looking out from Holsten's, they were a little bit left so you couldn't really see them directly out the window."
"I read that Holsten’s ice cream shop in New Jersey played a role in The Sopranos prequel movie, which will feature Michael Gandolfini portraying a young Tony Soprano." - Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
