After Wednesday’s incredibly sad news of the passing of acting giant James Gandolfini, many tributes to the late actor have been shared by peers and fans alike. Beautiful as many of the obituaries and gestures have been, perhaps the most quietly moving as been that from Holsten’s Ice Cream Shop in Bloomfield, NJ.
Holsten’s was the location of the iconic final scene of The Sopranos; not a day has passed since the airing of the show’s finale where fans haven not sat at the booth where the scene was shot to take photos and take in the scenery.
To honor the actor, the shop’s owner Chris Carley has placed a “Reserved” sign on the table atop a newspaper with a photo of Gandolfini.
Thanks to reporter @JKlekamp for the tweet, originally identified via Boing Boing.
“I closed the booth out of respect for him,” Carley told the New York Daily News. “It’s to let the people know who come in and look at that booth. They will see the sign that it’s reserved for the Soprano Family. It’s really out of respect for [James],” he said. “It meant a lot.”
Much respect to Carley for this kind gesture. Gandolfini will be missed.
Low Culture, High Concept 
To this day, that final scene puzzles me. What happened when the Sopranos’ daughter walked into the restaurant? What happened to the family after the series ended?