Mystic Pizza: A Restaurant Inspired By A Film Inspired By That Restaurant

When screenwriter Amy Holden Jones decided to use the Mystic Pizza restaurant in Mystic, CT as the inspiration, setting, and even the title of the romantic comedy she was working on, it’s doubtful that the owners knew that over 35 years later after the film’s release it would still be the eatery’s claim to fame. In fact, when director Donald Petrie asked the Zelepos family to close the pizzeria for six months (with pay) so that the film could shoot on location, they refused, worried that it would hurt their business. As a result, the movie Mystic Pizza filmed on a set built in nearby Stonington, CT. While the film was a only modest success with mixed critical reception, it propelled its three young lead actors – Annabeth Gish, Lili Taylor, and Julia Roberts – into stardom, and even served as Matt Damon’s film debut.

Watching Mystic Pizza for the first time in 2023 strips some of the context of the time period in which is was released; story beats that may have been considered novel and honest in 1988 can come across as a bit, well, cheesy so far after the film’s premier. It also suffers from the same issue as many 1980s movies: that behavior that was meant to be cute or funny at the time – such as drunk driving, stealing someone’s truck, or pressuring a partner for sex – comes off cringeworthy at best and toxic at worst. It is original, at least, that the female leads are most often the ones engaging this behavior, as men are more typically responsible for such offenses in movies during that period. The characters’ imperfections are a deliberate part of the story, though, and their time together in the eponymous pizzeria serves as the nexus for their friendship.

Whatever one takes away from the movie, the current restaurant – which, in another ironic reversal, was later remodeled to look like the set of the film – does neatly capture the look of the set. Covered with movie posters and tchotchkes, it has a nostalgic family restaurant feel that is harder to find now than it was when the movie released. It is still considered one of the main tourist destinations in the town, which speaks to the longevity of both the film and the real-life restaurant’s pizza. With the 2021 premier of the Mystic Pizza musical, featuring music written by Melissa Ethridge, it’s quite possible this odd ouroboros – a movie based on a restaurant that then based itself on the movie, and now has a musical based on it – will draw a new generation of enthusiasts. Whether or not you’re a fan of the film, the Mystic Pizza restaurant offers a spot to get a quick and relatively reasonably priced snack while perusing the shops on Water Street. It’s been in the Zelepos family since 1973 – long before the movie came out – and hopefully regardless of the movie and musical, their core goal of serving tasty pizza will see them remain a community fixture for years to come.