In The Sopranos, Tony and his crew regularly hang out in front of the deli. Is this not a tad unrealistic? Would mobsters of Tony and co.'s stature not a) have somewhere better to be hanging out and b) somewhere safer to be hanging out?
I don’t recall if there were ever any attempted drive-by shootings. For that matter I don’t recall there being many in the series at all. Are Italian mobsters meant to be averse to doing drive-bys?
The deli was important because it was in a section of town that they controlled. They got into this with a couple of plot lines such as when Tony was selling real estate he owned in that area and when Paulie was running the annual street festival.
The area is local and a source of the power of the family. It’s important for Tony to stay close to it even though he has money and owns a nice house on the hill in a neighborhood full of doctors and lawyers.
I think the point/message was just that they were all regular, blue-collar guys, albeit ones who had rather unsavory income methods.
Exactly. That was essentially the point of the whole show. Real-life mobsters don’t go around hiding themselves and their families from the world. They live their lives, go to work and school, attend church, restaurants, parties, etc. They will obviously be more cautious at certain times, but they don’t go into hiding unless required.
I had the same reaction, but figured it was kind of an “F.U., we’re not afraid of you” statement.
Yeah but sitting inside the deli would seem infinitely more secure than sitting outside. I suppose sitting outside they had less to worry about bugs.
Tony actually owns Satriale’s, which his father extorted from the original owner to cover gambling debts.
Other Mafia families are not going to attempt to hit a made man, and especially not a Boss like Tony, unless they have decided to go to war. That’s something that’s not done lightly since it invites retaliation, as witness the war with the Brooklyn mob that culminated the series. Killing a made man requires a sit-down and permission from his own Boss. If they do take someone out it will be surreptitiously and done in such a way as to attract as little attention and suspicion as possible. Tony went to extent of recruiting black guys or Mafia contacts from Italy when he wanted to do a hit on other mob members.
Other criminals that are not part of the Mafia are also not going to attempt to hit a made man because they know that they would be dead meat. They would be targeted by every mob guy in town.
Colibri’s point is well-illustrated by the fact that when Phil Leotardo decides to go to war with Tony, Tony does in fact go into hiding.
In New Jack City, didn’t the white mafioso’s sit outside their social club, and were eventually struck by Wesley Snipe’s gang? Or am I mis-remembering? I didn’t pay that close attention. At any rate, its a sunny day, you have business to do, why not work outside? I think tho’, sitting outside was a first few season’s thing on the Sopranos, later in the run, like during the hit on the psycho Russian, or when Tony was depressed of the death of Big Pussy, all business was inside.
Even near the end of the final season, Tony sat with Paulie outside Satriale’s, at a time when he felt that a hit from the Brooklyn mob wasn’t a threat.
At the bottom of this page is a picture of mobster “Fat Tony” Salerno and his crew sitting outside the Palma Boys Social Club, which would have functioned like Satriale’s did for Tony Soprano.
These type of hangouts in general are common in Italian-American neighborhoods; or course only a very few are mob covers.
If you watch documentaries on the American mafia, it will sometimes be mentioned that they do not usually go in for mass mayhem type public attacks like drive-bys or the Dadeland Mall massacre, for fear of drawing more heat if an innocent civilian gets caught in the crossfire.
Beyond the reasons given by other posters, think about what you know of the character of Tony Soprano- is he the type of guy who would operate from a bunker if he didn’t have to? He got a rash just spending a week sitting behind a desk at Barone Sanitation.
Thanks for your replies you guys.
Plus, if you’re securely sitting inside, you can get some onion rings, maybe listen to a little music from the '80s.
Oh yeah I know but as portrayed in the show seems like a dingy enough joint, no?
Shouldn’t that be “youse guys”?
Note: I’ve never watched The Sopranos, but I think part of it would be to be seen. You can’t control a turf as an absentee landlord. People need to see you, both for a semi-subtle intimidation factor, but also because you want to seem to be part of the neighborhood. If you’re going to rule a patch of the city, the inhabitants really sort of go along with it. Little kids look up to “Uncle Tony” and grow up to be part of the gang.
StG
You misspelled “youse.”
Seems like a fairly ordinary looking deli. They probably don’t want something too ostentatious. Other real-life Mafia hangouts like John Gotti’s Ravenite Social Club orBergin Hunt and Fish Club don’t look like much either.
If Tony and his crew want to hang out in a high-class atmosphere there’s always the Bada-Bing! 
Wasn’t the rash from the girl he was banging while sitting in his chair at the desk job? I thought that’s why he showed them having sex at the end…to reveal that mystery. IIRC, you see her riding him and her position is such that the inside of his arms are rubbing against her sweater.
By the way, the real life location of Satriale’s was torn down a couple of years ago and they made the bricks available to purchase.
