Joe Scaravella
Joe Scaravella | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jody Scaravella' mid-1950s Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Restaurateur |
Jody Scaravella, commonly known as Joe, is an Italian-American restaurateur best known as the founder of Enoteca Maria, a restaurant named for his mother and located on Staten Island, New York. Established in 2007, the restaurant is known for its concept of featuring grandmothers ("nonnas") from around the world as rotating chefs, each preparing traditional home-cooked meals from their native cultures.
Scaravella and his restaurant are the subjects of the Netflix film Nonnas, directed by Stephen Chbosky, in which actor Vince Vaughn portrays Scaravella.[1][2]
Early life
[edit]Jody Scaravella was born in Brooklyn, New York, in the mid-1950s, to Maria and her husband.[3][4] As an adult he worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.[4]
Later life
[edit]Following the successive deaths of his grandfather, father, mother, grandmother, and sister, Scaravella entered a period of profound grief.[4] With funds from his inheritance, he moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island, where he purchased a Dutch colonial house within walking distance of the Staten Island Ferry terminal.[4] While exploring the area, he came across an empty storefront next to the St. George Theatre.[4] Moved by the memory of his mother Maria, he decided to buy the space and open a restaurant as a tribute, which later became Enoteca Maria.[4] To honour his Sicilian grandmother, Domenica, he recruited Italian grandmothers as chefs.[4] He later extended his chef recruitment to non-Italian grandmothers.[3]
Scaravella’s cookbook Nonna’s House features the first three grandmothers who cooked at Enoteca Maria when it opened, along with profiles of other grandmothers who have cooked at the restaurant throughout the years.[4][5]
References
[edit]- ^ Aulbach, Dal (13 May 2025). "The real-life inspiration for 'Nonnas' says he 'cried through the whole movie'. Inside the true story". TODAY.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ Oleksinski, Johnny (8 May 2025). "Exclusive | NYC restaurant owner who inspired 'Nonnas' movie bombarded with calls: 'There's 350 messages on there!'". Archived from the original on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ a b Trott, Dave (2021). "Grandma knows best". The Power of Ignorance: How creative solutions emerge when we admit what we don’t know. Harriman House Limited. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-85719-836-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Waxman, Olivia B. (9 May 2025). "The Surprising True Story Behind Netflix's Nonnas". TIME. Archived from the original on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ "Out and about are restaurants". The Week Junior Big Book of Knowledge: The ultimate book for curious kids with over 500 incredible true stories and astonishing facts. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2024. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-80199-524-5.
Further reading
[edit]- Nonna's House: Cooking and Reminiscing with the Italian Grandmothers of Enoteca Maria. New York: Simon and Schuster. 2015. ISBN 978-1-4767-7411-4.
External links
[edit]- "Our Story". Enoteca Maria. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2025.