Nonnas is now streaming on Netflix, and it is exactly what it sounds like: a tribute to Italian grandmothers, and also to good food. And even better, it’s not wholly a fictional story. Instead, the new Vince Vaughn movie is based on the true story of restaurant owner Joe Scaravella and his restaurant, Enoteca Maria.
In the movie, Vaughn’s character of Joe, goes from being a transportation worker to honor his mom, with nonnas—or grandmas—as chefs. The nonnas in this particular case are played by Susan Sarandon,Talia Shire,Lorraine Bracco, and Brenda Vaccaro. The movie was directed byStephen Chbosky, with a screenplay written by Liz Maccie.
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But what happened to the real Joe Scaravella, and how similar is the story of the movie to his real-life story? Does he still have the restaurant? Was it really a success? Here’s everything you need to know.
Where’s Joe Scaravella Now & What Happened to the Real Nonnas Character?
Joe Scaravella is exactly where the movie leaves him, at his restaurant. Enoteca Maria is a real restaurant in New York City, one that employs grandmothers, or nonnas, as chefs. The restaurant opened in Staten Island in 2007 and still operates to this day.
According to a2017New York Timesprofile, when Scaravella opened the restaurant, his mother had just passed away, just a few years after his grandmother had in 1999. The movie doesn’t depict it, but Scaravella also lost a sister around the same time. All of this inspired him to start the restaurant. “After losing all those matriarchal figures in my life, I wanted to try to recreate that, you know, grandma in the kitchen cooking,” Scaravella told the outlet.
Just like in the movie, Scaravella used the money left by his late mother and wanted to recreate that feeling of childhood. And his restaurant was indeed named after his mother. “I work from the heart more than from the head,” Scaravella told the New YorkTimes.
“The real story behind this place is grief — my own personal grief after losing a lot of my family, and trying to re-create them,” Scaravella told The Washington Post.
Since the movie is just about the beginning of the restaurant, we just see how Enoteca Maria started as an Italian restaurant. But in 2015, Scaravella decided he wanted to honor grandmothers from all over. The restaurant now has two kitchens, one for the Italian nonnas and one for a rotating staff of grandmothers of other cuisines, including from Pakistan, Japan, Peru, Poland, and more. These cooks are officially called the “Nonnas of the World.”
Ironically, the main difference between the movie and real life? The movie exaggerates the struggles Scaravella faced. In reality, his restaurant was a hit pretty much from the beginning, and now it’s hard to get a table. It seems like everyone wants a meal that feels like it was cooked by our nonnas.
