Latest news with #Scaravella
NBC News
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
The true story that inspired 'Nonnas'
This ain't your parent's cooking. But it might be your grandma's. 'Nonnas,' a new film that released on Netflix on May 9, stars Vince Vaughn as Joe Scaravella, a real-life figure who founded an Italian restaurant on Staten Island called Enoteca Maria to honor his late mother, sister and his own nonna. But the restaurant has a unique twist — to honor his family, Scaravella hires a staff of rotating grandmothers to cook. Now, Scaravella's original vision, which debuted nearly 20 years ago, will be seen on a silver screen. 'Eight years ago, they bought the rights to my life, which is a little bizarre,' Scaravella tells 'I'm a little taken aback by it all; it's a little difficult to digest.' Scaravella calls the director, Stephen Chbosky, 'amazing,' the actors 'incredible,' and says he 'loves' the writer Liz Maccie. In the film, Vaughn plays Scaravella, who appeared on Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist on May 4 to discuss his connection with the film. 'I really got moved when I read this script and the way that it was really focusing on the grandmothers,' Vaughn said on TODAY. 'These matriarchs of a family that did so much and loved people, and that they get to continue that process, this craft that they're great at, which is cooking, and still loving to feed people and create that atmosphere.' The film adaptation follows Scaravella's journey to create his restaurant. Manganiello plays opposite Vaughn as Bruno Tropeano, Scaravella's real-life best friend and champion. The four nonnas featured in the film are portrayed by Lorraine Bracco, Brenda Vaccaro, Talia Shire and Susan Sarandon. The Italian grandmothers rediscover themselves through cooking at Enoteca Maria. The movie-making process has been a lot to process for Scaravella. He got another shock when he found out Vaughn would star as Scaravella in the film. 'It's too unreal to think that Vince (Vaughn) would play me,' Scaravella said on Sunday Sitdown. 'I still don't believe it, really.' During the movie premiere at the Paris Theater in New York on April 30, Scaravella got to see what was once a grief-driven vision that turned into a movie-worthy script. Scaravella said on Sunday Sitdown that he 'cried through the whole movie.' 'The audience, you can hear them crying and laughing and gasping, and it was just received so well that it's really, it's going to be an amazing hit,' Scaravella said. While Scaravella initially started the restaurant to honor his Italian heritage, hiring exclusively Sicilian grandmothers, Enoteca Maria has been featuring grandmothers from international backgrounds since 2015. The kitchen has welcomed in grandmothers from Bangladesh, Algeria, Trinidad, Syria, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Belarus, Poland and France. The restaurant features a fixed Italian menu along with food from whichever grandmothers are cooking that night to represent their culture. There's even a 'nonna's calendar' that details which grandmothers are in house on a given night. 'The Greek lady, you know, that's her food. She grew up with that. She knows exactly what that's supposed to taste like,' Scaravella tells 'And the Italian lady, and so on and so forth. I think that these ladies are the source and so they really are able to represent the culture, and that's what we do.' With the big release, Scaravella says there are plans to do a sequel called 'Nonnas of the World.' Scaravella has even started developing an idea to do a television series.
Time Out
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
‘Nonnas': behind the filming locations for the Netflix comedy
Dropping just in time for Mother's Day in the US, Nonnas is bound to have you rushing into the kitchen as soon as the credits roll. Based on a true story, the Netflix comedy follows a group of Italian grandmothers – affectionately dubbed 'nonnas' – who become chefs in a New York hotspot. The restaurant it's based on, Enoteca Maria, is usually fully-booked and now the popularity of Nonnas will only make it harder to secure a reservation. Here's all you need to know about the heartwarming movie. What's the true story behind Nonnas? Nonnas is based on the true story of Joe Scaravella, a transportation worker who opened a restaurant in Staten Island, New York, in 2007 after missing the home-cooked Italian dishes made by his grandmother. After falling into depression following several family deaths, Scaravella used inheritance money to buy the property that would soon become known as Enoteca Maria, a local hotspot where Italian grandmothers could share their culinary traditions and signature recipes with the rest of the neighborhood. Since 2015, Enoteca Maria – named after Scaravella's mother – has hired grandmothers from all over the world -– Japan, Poland, Ukraine, Greece, China and many other countries – who all bring their recipes to life alongside the Italian staples. While the four nonnas featured in the movie share many similar traits to the real-life chefs who launched the restaurant, they aren't directly based on them. Instead there were three original nonnas, who are all featured in Scaravella's cookbook Nonna's House. The original women were Carmelina Pica, Adelina Orazzo and Teresa Scalici, but Scaravella told Time that much of what happens in the movie took place in the real kitchen, including arguments over family recipes and a moment when one nonna prays for customers to show up. Their prayers were answered and business has never slowed down, something that is unlikely to change now the story has made it to screens. Can you visit the real Nonnas restaurant? Yes! But be warned, Enoteca Maria is so popular that securing a table can be like winning the lottery, although we have it on good authority that it's worth the wait. Located in Staten Island, New York, the restaurant is open from Friday through to Sunday and you can even order some of the same dishes featured in the movie, including the capuzzelle (lamb's head) or Scaravella's grandmother's famous Sunday Gravy. Enoteca Maria's menu has now expanded beyond its regular Italian fare, with nightly takeovers of different cuisines from across the world, as nonnas bringing their country's dishes to the dining hotspot. Check out the restaurant's website for more info, although to book a table you'll need to make a reservation over the phone. Who is in the cast of Nonnas? Vince Vaughn plays Joe, a native New Yorker who opens a restaurant after the passing of his beloved grandmother, in a bid to stay connected to those he's lost through the power of food. Linda Cardellini (Green Book) plays Olivia, Joe's estranged childhood sweetheart. The pair reconnect as Olivia helps Joe with the legal side of running a restaurant. Magic Mike's Joe Manganiello portrays Joe's long-time best pal Bruno. Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco (Goodfellas), Talia Shire (Rocky), and Brenda Vaccaro (Gypsy) play the titular nonnas-turned-chefs, who each has their own reason for finding solace in the kitchen and friendship. Where was Nonnas movie filmed? Despite being set in Staten Island, most of the movie was actually filmed in New Jersey back in 2023. Specific locations include the Paterson district of New Jersey, including the Paterson Great Falls National Park. Other New Jersey filming locations included Judicke's Bakery in the Bayonne area. With the real restaurant, Enoteca Maria, still being a popular hotspot, filming for the restaurant scenes had to take place elsewhere. The crew recreated the restaurant at Spiritos, an Italian restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, which opened in 1932 but closed doors in 2020 due to the pandemic. Scenes showing restaurant owner Joe Scaravella's other job as a transport officer were filmed at Raritan Valley Bus Station in Edison, New Jersey. Is there a trailer for Nonnas?
Metro
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Netflix's new 'charming' film with 'giant heart' is your perfect weekend watch
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video If you want something to warm the cockles of your heart this weekend, we have just the thing. This 2025 release has been widely praised by viewers, acquiring an 89% score on review site Rotten Tomatoes and being compared to legendary 80s sitcom The Golden Girls. Starring Hollywood legends Susan Sarandon and Vince Vaughn, Nonnas is a comedy-drama film with a charming story, directed by Stephen Chbosky. Filmed in 2023 in various locations in New Jersey, it is based on the life of Jody 'Joe' Scaravella, a New Yorker who owned Staten Island restaurant Enoteca Maria, where grandmothers (aka nonnas in Italian) from all over the world are invited to work as chefs. While the women in the movie are fictionalised, the concept is firmly based on a true story and the risk Scaravella took after losing two of his most cherished people. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Vaughn, 55, stars as restaurant founder Scaravella, 69, who opened the 35-seat eatery in 2007 as a tribute to the Italian women who helped him fall in love with cooking. This included his grandma, Domenica, a confident home cook who died shortly before turning 100, and his mother, Maria, after whom the place was named. Scaravella quickly grew to miss the authentic Italian cooking of the matriarchs in his family following their deaths, telling the New York Times in 2017: 'I wanted to try to recreate that, you know, grandma in the kitchen cooking.' Despite having zero experience in the restaurant business, he set up Enoteca Maria by way of 'comforting' himself, having previously worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for over a decade. Oscar winner Sarandon, 78, plays one of the elderly female chefs in Nonnas, along with Talia Shire, 79, Lorraine Bracco, 70, and Brenda Vaccaro, 85. After watching Nonnas, which was released just this week on May 9, critics flooded Rotten Tomatoes with praise, describing the story as 'heartfelt' and one that will make you 'tear up and smile' in equal measure. 'A warm, wise and wonderful delight that will nourish your heart, mind and soul. It's the cinematic equivalent of comfort food,' writes Avi Offer. 'It all could easily have been played for cheap laughs or schmaltzy tears. Instead, we get something much rarer: a story that respects both grief and joy as necessary companions on the journey back to life,' adds Joe Botten. Meanwhile, over on X, audiences are already demanding more. 'Loved this wonderful sweet Netflix movie. Please make it a series…the new 'Golden Girls'!', wrote @MMMPrinceton. 'It should be on your watchlist for this weekend!', said @Jp_Juan_1. 'Do it for the love of your grandma'. @msbreviews added that while the film is not 'reinventing the genre,' it makes up for its lack of originality with 'giant heart and emotional sincerity'. 'It's a heartfelt tribute to family, culture, the women who raised us & the power of food to bring people together & heal old wounds', they said. Enoteca Maria still exists away from the small screen, and you can actually go there to eat a delicious meal crafted with love. Initially, all of the cooks were Italian, but in 2015, Scaravella welcomed a woman from Pakistan into the kitchen. This altered the restaurant's future permanently, as it became known for its 'Nonnas of the World' and began hiring women from all over the globe to add their touch to the menu. More Trending At any given time, two nonnas are working in the kitchen, one as head chef and the other as sous chef, usually from different cultures. 'Most of these ladies, their husbands have passed away, the children have grown up, and they've moved out,' Scaravella previously told People. 'They're packed with culture, and they need an outlet. And that's what we do—we provide that outlet.' Stream Nonnas on Netflix. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: John Legend pinpoints exact moment mentor Kanye West's 'descent' began MORE: Donald Trump to be shown in much 'kinder' light with new $100,000,000 biopic MORE: Hollywood legend smiles as he watches Victory Day military parade in Moscow
Time Magazine
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
The Surprising True Story Behind Netflix's Nonnas
Steps from the ferry terminal in the New York City borough of Staten Island, in a neighborhood overlooking the lower Manhattan skyline, is Enoteca Maria, a 35-seat restaurant where the chefs are grandmothers from all over the world. The restaurant is now the subject of a new Netflix movie Nonnas, out May 9. Vince Vaughn stars as founder Jody 'Joe' Scaravella, 69, who opened the restaurant in 2007 as an homage to the Italian women who made him love cooking, his grandmother Domenica and his mother Maria, for whom the restaurant is named. The movie shows how Scaravella went from being a transportation worker to opening a restaurant with senior women as chefs, played by Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire, Lorraine Bracco, and Brenda Vaccaro. TIME went to the real Enoteca Maria to chat with the owner Scaravella over espresso. Boasting grey curly hair, small wiry eyeglasses, and a t-shirt with Gene Wilder's face on it from Young Frankenstein that said "I'm Alive!," he paused the interview every now and then to receive deliveries of mozzarella and branzino. Superhero figures decorate the restaurant—Batman and Spiderman dangle from the ceiling—but he makes it clear that the real superheroes in the restaurant are the grandmothers in the kitchen. A portrait of Domenica, Maria and his sister Mariana hangs prominently on a wall. 'This is not a restaurant,' he says. 'It walks like a restaurant, smells like a restaurant, talks like a restaurant, but it's not a restaurant. It's a cultural exchange.' Enoteca Maria began as an Italian restaurant, but the menu changed over time as grandmas from all over the place were invited to share their family recipes. When TIME visited in May, the restaurant was preparing to offer Mexican, Uzbek, and Greek menus all in one weekend. The grandmothers, says Scaravella, 'are taking what their mother taught them to make, what their grandmother taught them to make, and every time these ladies are in the kitchen, you have all of this culture coming out of their fingertips.' TIME talked to Scaravella about the origins of the restaurant, the real women who launched it, and why grandmothers make the best (and worst) restaurant chefs. How grandmothers became chefs at Enoteca Maria Scaravella is a Brooklyn native, and he lived on the block where he grew up for 50 years. After the deaths of his grandfather, father, mother, grandmother, and sister in quick succession, he fell into a deep depression. With the money he inherited, he looked into buying a waterfront property and headed to Staten Island, the southern-most borough of New York City that is accessible by ferry and car and has its own subway line. He fell in love with a Dutch colonial house that was walking distance from the Staten Island Ferry terminal and decided to start a new life there. On a walk one day, he spotted a vacant storefront next to the St. George Theatre, and he decided to buy it and open a restaurant in honor of his mother Maria. As the movie shows, he was basically working two jobs when he first started to get Enoteca Maria off of the ground, often having people cover for him at his job with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In honor of his grandmother Domenica, a confident home cook, Scaravella wanted to hire actual grandmothers to do the cooking. Domenica, was from Sicily and died just a few months shy of 100 years old. She was feisty, and Scaravella grew up watching her cook and shop for ingredients. At the Italian market she frequented in Brooklyn, she'd take a bite of a plum, and if she didn't like it, she'd spit it out and leave it on the ground. 'Nobody ever said a word because they knew if it was on the floor, it belonged there,' Scaravella says. Scaravella put out an ad looking for real grandmothers to cook in his restaurant. So many people responded, from all over the world, that Enoteca Maria ended up having a rotating line of chefs. Scaravella is passionate about global cuisine and preserving recipes. Along with showcasing food from different countries, Enoteca Maria offers a free class where participants can get one-on-one cooking tutorials from grandmothers. He hopes to eventually create an online group where people can post their own family recipes. But doing the movie and making a Facebook group might be as far as the restaurant goes, tech-wise. Those interested in going to Enoteca Maria have to make a reservation the old-fashioned way, by phone. Scaravella is not interested in getting on reservation apps like Resy or OpenTable, and definitely not interested in a grandma delivery service via UberEats or DoorDash. 'Food loses some of its value for every moment it's in a box,' he says. 'I'm not chasing a dollar. I'm chasing a dream.' Nonnas follows the Italian cooks who helped launch the restaurant, and in the film, the women are fictionalized but inspired by the colorful women in Scaravella's life. Susan Sarandon plays Gia, a hairdresser who took care of Scaravella's mom when she had cancer and gets recruited by Scaravella because she's such a good baker. Talia Shire plays Teresa, a nun who left a convent after falling for another woman. Lorraine Bracco plays Roberta, a friend of Scaravella's mother who finds cooking at Enoteca Maria to be a nice break from living in a senior home. Likewise, Brenda Vaccaro plays Antonella, a widow who finds new purpose in life at the restaurant after a young neighbor Olivia (Linda Cardellini) tips her off to Scaravella's ad for cooks. The three original grandmothers in the kitchen when Enoteca Maria first opened are featured in Scaravella's cookbook Nonna's House, which profiles different grandmothers that have cooked at the restaurant over the years. Carmelina Pica, the fourth of 14 kids, who worked in a sewing factory and made appetizers for an Italian market on Staten Island, including stuffed pepper strips and seafood salad that made the store a destination for Staten Island families. She attended the Nonnas premiere on April 30. Adelina Orazzo grew up in a little town on the outskirts of Naples and got engaged to be married when she was only 13 years old. The marriage later fell apart, but, like her counterpart in Nonnas she found new purpose when her niece saw Scaravella's ad for cooks, and he gave her free reign in the kitchen. Teresa Scalici, known for her cookies at Enoteca Maria, lived with her grandmother in Sicily in her teenage years. She raised a family on Staten Island and went to work for Scaravella at the age of 60, often carrying around a book of recipes that her own grandmother put together. Enoteca Maria brought meaning to Scaravella and the nonnas' lives, but in the kitchen, the knives were out from time to time. In Nonnas, Antonella and Roberta are competitive with one another, getting into a fight in the kitchen as they compete to prove that their respective native regions of Italy produce the best food. It's true that fights have broken out in the Enoteca Maria kitchen. 'I've seen a frying pan raised,' says Scaravella. Among the original chefs, 'Adelina and Teresa did not like each other,' he says, especially 'if somebody made something that was better than the other person made it.' And training grandmothers to cook in accordance with the health code was a whole other battle. As he explains, 'My grandmother would make a pot of sauce that would stay on the stove all day, and you would pick at it all day. You can't do that, as far as the health department is concerned.' That particular sauce may not be on the menu, but a version of his grandmother's Sunday Gravy does make an occasional appearance. In the film, the fictional Joe spends the entire film trying to recreate his grandmother's Sunday Gravy and figure out its secret ingredient. In the movie, sparks also fly between Joe and Olivia, the neighbor who encouraged Antonella to join Scaravella's kitchen. Scaravella has dated women he has met through the restaurant over the years, and his current partner is one of Enoteca Maria's rotating chefs, Yumi Komatsudaira, who makes Japanese cuisine. One of the most dramatic scenes in the movie really did happen. Shire's character Teresa gets down on her knees and prays that an inspection will go well so the restaurant can reopen to customers. In reality, one of his friends—not one of the original chefs—did get down and pray to the famous priest Padre Pio for customers to show up. And shortly after she did that, the restaurant started to fill up. A portrait of Padre Pio also hangs in the real restaurant.
New York Post
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
NYC restaurant owner who inspired ‘Nonnas' movie bombarded with calls: ‘There's 350 messages on there!'
Jody Scaravella knew right away that Enoteca Maria, the Staten Island restaurant he opened in 2007 where grandmothers cook traditional meals for customers, would make a perfect movie. How could he not? Scaravella, who also goes by Joe, was being told so non-stop. 'Almost from day one, we've been contacted about a reality show, about a movie, about a documentary, just constantly, constantly,' the owner of the hotspot in the St. George neighborhood of the borough told The Post. 'I certainly knew we had struck a nerve.' Advertisement 9 A new movie called 'Nonnas' is based on the life and restaurant of Jody Scaravella. Gabriella Bass 9 At the start of the movie, we see Scaravella as a boy observing his grandma cook pasta sauce alongside his mom. Gabriella Bass And then about eight years ago, the filmmakers of 'Nonnas,' the feel-good comedy directed by Stephen Chbosky that drops on Netflix Friday, finally convinced him. Advertisement 'This was really heartfelt and the people actually stepped up to the plate,' he said. 'It unfolded very quickly.' Now, Scaravella is getting the Hollywood treatment. The Brooklyn native is being played onscreen by 'Wedding Crashers' star Vince Vaughn. And the quartet of lively Italian nonnas heating up the kitchen are a formidable bunch: Lorraine Bracco, Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire and Brenda Vaccaro. 9 Susan Sarandon, Brenda Vaccaro, Lorraine Bracco and Talia Shire play the cooking nonnas. AP Advertisement 9 Vince Vaugn plays Scaravella in the new Netflix The kitchen can get spicy — and not just because of the red pepper flakes. 'I love Lorraine Bracco and Brenda Vaccaro when they're having it out,' Scaravella said. Their characters' head-butting is about more than whose Sunday sauce is tastier. Bracco's forthright Roberta hails from Sicily, while Vaccaro's nonna, Antonella, is a proud native of Bologna. Advertisement 'There's definitely a certain amount of prejudice, depending on what part of Italy you're from,' Scaravella said. 'The one moment when Vince turns to the ladies and says, 'You ladies are killing me!' — I've said that.' 9 The Staten Island restaurant he opened in 2007. Gabriella Bass 9 Scaravella was inspired by his own nonna and his mother, the eatery's namesake. Gabriella Bass The proprietor helped Vaughn, who he calls a 'really down to earth and sweet guy,' and writer Liz Maccie turn the remarkable Enoteca Maria journey into a heart-tugging movie. 'He came to the restaurant with Joe Mangianello, [who plays best friend Bruno],' Scaravella said. 'He was asking about the story and I guess he was just trying to get a feel for the character and the brilliant script written by Liz Maccie — threading together all the moments in my life.' One aspect that makes the tale compelling is that it's about an underdog. Scaravella had no restaurant experience when he decided to open Enoteca Maria. The other is family. He was inspired by his own nonna and his mother, the eatery's namesake. 'Nonnas' weaves them in. 9 Scaravella named Enoteca Maria after his late mother. AP At the start of the movie, we see Scaravella as a boy observing his grandma cook pasta sauce alongside his mom. Watching his younger self with those special women in his life moved him. Advertisement 'I just sat there with tears in my eyes through the whole thing,' Scaravella said. 'And every time I've looked at it afterwards, it's very emotional for me.' The whirlwind of 'Nonnas' has also made the man very, very busy. 9 Scaravella says he's getting hundreds of messages per day. Gabriella Bass 9 'There's 350 messages on there that I'm trying to get through one at a time,' Scaravella told the Post of his restaurant's success. Gabriella Bass Advertisement When The Post visited Enoteca Maria, which today features nonnas of many different nationalities and culinary specialties (Jewish, Polish, Ukrainian, Mexican and more), the already popular restaurant's phone was ringing off the hook. 'It's a bit much,' Scaravella said. 'I mean, I can't answer my phone. There's 350 messages on there that I'm trying to get through one at a time. Every time I do one, three more come in.' But, he added, 'there are bad problems and there are good problems. This is a good problem.'
