The new Vince Vaughn Netflix movie, Nonnas—which began streaming today—shines a spotlight on a rarely-filmed borough of New York City: Staten Island.
Directed by Stephen Chbosky, with a screenplay written by Liz Maccie, Nonnas is based on the true story of real Staten Island restaurant, Enoteca Maria, where all the food is made not by professional chefs, but by grandmothers, or “nonnas,” from around the world. Vaughn stars as Joe Scarevella, who was inspired to open the restaurant as a way of working through his grief over his recently-deceased mother. The rest of the Nonnas cast includes Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, Joe Manganiello, Linda Cardellini, and Susan Sarandon.
But before Staten Islanders get too excited about this Hollywood representation, you should know that most of the Nonnas movie was not actually filmed on the island. Read on to learn more about the Nonna filming locations.
Where was the Vince Vaughn Nonnas movie filmed?
Though the movie takes place on Staten Island, the Nonnas movie was filmed, for the most part, in New Jersey. According to a 2023 local Jersey news report, Vaughn was seen filming in Bayonne, New Jersey, at 44 East 14th St. The crew also filmed in Paterson, New Jersey, including at the Paterson Great Falls National Park and in downtown Paterson.
Other Jersey filming locations included Hoboken, where Vaughn became something of a regular in town over the summer of 2023. Hoboken filming locations included Judicke’s Bakery and around East 14th Street. The movie also reportedly filmed in Jersey City.
Nonnas was not filmed at the real Enoteca Maria in Staten Island. Pictures of the real restaurant depict a much smaller space than the restaurant featured in the film.
The movie version of the Enoteca Maria was filmed at 714 3rd Avenue in the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey. The building located at that address, which was transformed into Enoteca Maria for the movie, is a now-closed Italian restaurant named Spiritos, which the movie paid homage to by writing Spiritos into the script. The film even features a shot of the real tile floor, which reads “Spiritos, Est. 1932.” The beloved restaurant first opened in 1932, but shut its doors during the 2020 pandemic. Perhaps the Nonnas movie might help revive it?
The scenes of Joe’s MTA job were filmed at Raritan Valley Bus Station in Edison, New Jersey. Vaughn posed for photos with the Edison mayor in his MTA gear.
According to Moviedelic, there were a few establishing shots filmed in Staten Island, New York, including a shot of a Mexican restaurant, Taqueria El Gallo Azteca at 75 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, New York.
So there you have it. Even though Nonnas is a movie about Staten Island, for the most part it was filmed in Jersey. Hey, gotta get those tax credits.
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