Harvey Weinstein recently became an investor in a new West Village lounge named Socialista, along with Cipriani heir Giuseppe Cipriani and Mrs. Sting, Trudie Styler.

The lounge, located at Jane and West Street, is the brainchild of Bungalow 8 doorman Armin Amiri, who is functioning as Socialista's public face. Amiri refers to the Cuban-themed lounge/restaurant as a "peasant-style cafe" with a "socialist" door policy:

"What I'd like to be done is a socialism as far as the door," said Mr. Amiri, who grew up in Persia and later Vienna, and speaks with a slight accent. "What socialism really means is, I give you this and you give me that. And as the door goes, I'm gonna bring you into this nice atmosphere; hopefully, you're going to bring your great energy in here. And that's it, that's the only even exchange I want with people."

While Amiri's definition of "socialism" is, well, interesting, what's going on behind the scenes is the real story. According to food blog Eater, Amiri does not have ownership of his own restaurant. Instead, Amiri pretends to be the restaurant's proprietor when in reality, he is a salaried employee of Giuseppe Cipriani.

Which, perhaps, explains why Weinstein is putting his money behind a venture by a first-time lounge operator in the notoriously competitive NYC food biz. Right?