The Charming True Story Behind Netflix’s ‘Nonnas’

If you’re looking for a feel-good family movie that might fill your heart and your stomach, it’s possible that “Nonnas” is right up your alley — especially since it’s based on a true story.

Now streaming on Netflix, “Nonnas” centers on Joe (Vince Vaughn), a man who loses both his mom and grandmother. Looking for a way to channel and cope with his grief, he uses the money from his mom’s insurance and the recipes she and his grandmother left behind to open a restaurant called Enoteca Maria. The catch? The place is staffed by four grandmothers, or “nonnas” as the Italian term goes, each from different cities in Italy.

And yes, Joe is actually a real person. His name is Joe Scaravella, and he lost his real grandmother in 1999. According to Scaravella, she was the “de facto head of the household,” as his own parents worked. “Growing up I realized that my grandmother had been the repository of our family culture and identity,” he wrote of starting his restaurant. “And I found out that, like her, millions of grandmothers all over the world pass down their heritage to their grandchildren.”

Almost 10 years later, in 2007, he opened the real-life Enoteca Maria, and really did invite Italian grandmothers to come work there and share their recipes with the neighborhood (though starting in 2015, grandmothers from any and all countries were welcomed).

If you’re looking to check it out, it’s on Hyatt Street on Staten Island. The restaurant is only open three days a week — Friday, Saturday and Sunday — and takes reservations by phone, so it’s a pretty tough reservation to score. The menu features multiple dishes shown in the movie, including the capuzzelle.

These days, it has a lot of regular customers, and according to director Stephen Chbosky, they take priority for the real Joe.

“At one point, I was doing some location scouting, and Susan Sarandon’s assistant called me asking if Susan could go to the restaurant the next day,” he told Netflix’s Tudum. “Saturday, I called Joe, and he said, ‘Ooh, I don’t really have a table for her.’ I said, ‘What?’ And he said, ‘Well, look, my regulars are coming, I’m booked. Let me see what I can do.'”

“He called back and said, ‘Can she come at 6:30?’ That’s who he is. He was not going to change,” Chbosky added. “He was not going to sell out any of his regulars, even for Susan Sarandon.

Bruno, the character played by Joe Manganiello in “Nonnas,” is also a real person, and apparently, he still regularly visits the real-life Enoteca Maria.

“Nonnas” is now streaming on Netflix.

The post The Charming True Story Behind Netflix’s ‘Nonnas’ appeared first on TheWrap.