Some cool places in movies really do exist. For instance: Mystic Pizza in the movie of the same name is a real pizza restaurant...and one you can go to right now if you really want to make a visit!
What is Mystic Pizza?
First, let's break down why such a random pizza place would be so popular. The movie Mystic Pizza, a 1988 American rom-com/drama, was inspired by a real pizza parlor in Mystic, Connecticut. Screenwriter Amy Holden Jones did some summering in the town and decided to set her story about a few waitresses there.
The movie is about two sisters, Kat (played by Annabeth Gish) and Daisy (portrayed by Julia Roberts) Araújo and their friend Jojo Barbosa (Lili Taylor), teenage girls who work as waitresses at a place called Mystic Pizza, owned by Leona (Conchata Ferrell) in a fishing town. The coming-of-age story set in a pizzeria was pretty popular and remains so to this day.
What About the Mystic Pizza Restaurant?
But what about the real Mystic Pizza? There is really such a place on Main Street in Mystic, but the movie itself was mostly filmed in nearby towns such as Stonington. The original shop billed as "A Slice of Heaven," was opened in 1973 and the movie really put it on the map.
So many people started visiting the store that the owners decided to open a second location, Mystic Pizza II, in North Stonington on the Providence New-London Turnpike.
Both pizza shops have the usual suspects on the menu when it comes to delicious pizzeria fares, like spaghetti with meatballs, calzones, and of course pizza with things like mozzarella, pepperoni, and all sorts of other toppings.
In fact, the Mystic Pizza restaurant got so popular, they not only do delivery and takeout these days, but they also offer frozen pizzas in grocery stores nationwide. That's quite the achievement for a little pizzeria in New England!
Check out the full story behind Mystic Pizza here — and maybe grab some fun merchandise if you consider yourself a true Mystic Pizza fan.
