Dreams of Hollywood East

Sometimes we forget in the hustle and bustle of our days that our own hometown is considered “Hollywood East”.  Only minutes away from Chris’ Cosmic Kitchen is Screen Gems Studios (follow them on Twitter @euescreengems).  Not only are TV shows filmed here and in the area, but big budget films as well.  People come from all over the country to watch for the stars featured in these productions.  Since opening in 2007, we’ve had a few reminders of the fact that this is, indeed, Hollywood East.  Our first reminder was when a gentlemen came in shortly after our opening and Chris recognized him from the set of, “Bolden“, a Wynton Marsalis film not yet released.  Chris and our oldest son, Isaiah (who at times aspires to be an actor) had been chosen as extras for this film and Chris recognized the gentleman as part of the production crew.  He and his family are now regulars.  Then came the faxed and phoned in orders from the set of “One Tree Hill”.  We were proud that they chose us to feed their crew, and even more proud that they were return customers.  Our third reminder that we were in a bustling film area was when we received a curiously large take-out call.  When asked if they worked in the area, they replied that the orders were for the set of, “The Secret Life of Bees”.  These were all exciting moments for us, a small, locally owned restaurant that has only been open a little over 2 years… but, the biggest moment of all happened just this weekend! Chris’ Cosmic Kitchen had our very first nationally known *star* dine in our restaurant.  Bethany Joy Galeotti, of “One Tree Hill” fame, and her husband, joined us for Sunday Brunch.  Bethany plays Haley James Scott on the CW drama.  You can find more about her here or here.

So, now it’s official.  Someone famous has eaten at Chris’ Cosmic Kitchen.  Though, in our imaginations, we’d like to believe that perhaps Queen Latifah, Alicia Keyes or Dakota Fanning may have sampled one of the many Chicken Club Wraps, or homemade Shrimp Bisque, that went out to the set of “The Secret Life of Bees”… we can dream too, can’t we?

More info on Screen Gems
More info on One Tree Hill