Movie Mystic Pizza Reaches 20th Anniversary
Tourists Still Visit Connecticut Locations of Julia Roberts Movie
Nov 24, 2008
After two decades, tourists still flock to the Mystic Pizza restaurant in Mystic, Connecticut, to try “A Slice of Heaven” and purchase souvenirs, wondering where in town “Mystic Pizza” actor Julia Roberts and her cast-mates might have walked.
What they may not know is that the restaurant and many other locations featured in the movie weren’t filmed in Mystic; they were filmed in the nearby towns of Groton, Stonington, Pawcatuck, and even Westerly, Rhode Island.
Since, and because of, the movie’s release, many Mystic storefronts have changed to cater to the influx of tourists. Family-owned diners, pharmacies, hardware stores and grocers gradually were replaced by upscale shops and chain stores. The Mystic magic conveyed on film, though, has continually remained.
Hollywood Magic in Mystic Pizza
Mystic is actually a historic village, half of which lies in the town of Stonington and the other half in Groton, divided by the Mystic River. Early in the story, Annabeth Gish’s character, Kat, rides on her motor scooter to bring a pizza from the restaurant to her mother, who is working at Ford’s Lobsters.
Because Mystic Pizza at the time was a too-small, hole-in-the-wall spot sharing space with a laundromat next door, a new restaurant setting was created in a building on Water Street, in Stonington Borough, about five miles from the real Mystic Pizza location at 56 West Main Street.
Kat rides the scooter from the set on Water Street, through Cannon Square (named for the 1814 Battle of Stonington cannons there, one of them visible in the shot), before arriving at Ford’s Lobsters in the next scene. Through movie magic, it appears that Kat makes a short ride to deliver the pizza. In reality, if a person made that same ride today, the pizza might be cold upon delivery.
Ford’s Lobsters is almost eight miles from where the restaurant set was built, alongside the Mystic River in the village of Noank, part of the town of Groton. Tourists may still see the Water Street building, Cannon Square, and Ford’s Lobsters looking much the same as 20 years ago.
The Mystic Bascule Bridge Scene
Mystic’s bascule bridge, which opens every hour during summer, is featured in one scene. There are two things to note about this scene. First, in the movie it is a fishing boat heading north through the bridge, but tourists visiting Mystic will see pleasure boats rather than commercial craft at this location. That’s because most of the region’s fishing business is associated with Stonington Harbor, where Connecticut’s only commercial fishing fleet is based. Visit the Town Dock in the Borough to see it. Second, viewers will notice a store in the background called “Noyes Dry Goods.” Today, that building is Mystical Toys.
Upriver from the bridge, Mystic Seaport provides another setting for the story—the planetarium where Gish’s character works, in addition to her Mystic Pizza job. The Seaport Planetarium has changed little since the ‘80s, and still operates using a 12-sided projector from 1960. Visitors today can see the Planetarium’s show for a nominal fee, in addition to Mystic Seaport admission.
Portuguese Heritage
The characters in “Mystic Pizza” may have considered Mystic, Connecticut, a place to escape from, divided by income and ethnicity. But the movie is a fictional story, drawing from the ethnic history of Stonington. Immigrants from the Azores settled in Stonington because they could both farm and fish there, as they did in their home country. Portuguese heritage is still celebrated in the Borough, even as its population changes, and is considered an important part of family tradition there.
Contact the Mystic Chamber of Commerce for more information about visiting the locations of “Mystic Pizza.”
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