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‘Sopranos’ and ‘White Lotus’ star Michael Imperioli opens up about his new NYC restaurant: ‘A privilege’
It’s a long way from the Bada Bing!
“The Sopranos” alum Michael Imperioli, along with wife Victoria and restaurateur Jeremy Wladis, have opened up Scarlet, a bar and restaurant at 468 Amsterdam Ave. at the corner of 83rd Street on the Upper West Side, we hear.
It’s not the star’s first time in the hospitality biz: He ran the Chelsea hot spot Ciel Rouge many years ago.
He told Page Six in an exclusive interview that the idea for Scarlet came about when he and Victoria moved back to New York City after living on the West Coast for several years.
The actor, 57, who lives in the neighborhood, comes in at least a couple times a week, and several of his “Sopranos” chums — among them Steve Schirripa and Kathrine Narducci — have already dropped in.
There’s even a nod to Imperioli’s most recent hit HBO series, “The White Lotus,” with a cocktail of the same name on the menu.
Imperioli says playing in two beloved mob dramas — “The Sopranos” and Martin Scorsese’s classic flick “Goodfellas” — didn’t help speed up getting a liquor license or cut through any red tape.
“I’ll be honest with you,” he shared. “Sometimes being a celebrity can really grease the wheels of certain kind of systems. And sometimes it can really get in the way. Some people might not like it. It can always go either way.”
Imperioli has been a celeb for quite a spell.
“Considering ‘Goodfellas’ was shot in ’89 and ‘White Lotus’ was on last year, 2022 —that’s a long stretch. And to be able to do stuff that’s of high quality that really connects with people is a privilege, really,” he said.
Showing his range, the star, who played Christopher Moltisanti in “The Sopranos,” will be seen onstage opposite another HBO alum, “Succession” star Jeremy Strong, and “You” alum Victoria Pedretti in a staging of the Ibsen classic “An Enemy of the People.”
