2018 Update:

It seems that after many years, the fabric store is no longer there.



Also, notice that the lot next to the store (on the left, previously an abandoned gas station) has been developed.

Not sure if the former restaurant/fabric store is still vacant, but I know some of the original architecture still remained: tile floor, tin ceiling - but, alas, no pull chain toilet.

So, if anyone here knows someone who wants to go into the restaurant business...




Signor V.
("Try the veal...")

Signor you should come to the Godfather locations with me. I find the history interesting too. I actually wanted to know what the bathroom is like but I doubt the ch*nks allowed visitors

Check out this page of the ScoutingNY website. There are lots of pictures and you may have to refresh the page several times for everything to load. This article was posted four years ago, but you'll see the bathroom (among many other things) and how drastically it had changed:

GF NYC Filming Locations Then and Now

A very well-researched article and the photos are great. Seems to put to rest many of the rumors and misinformation out there as far as "where was this or that actually shot?"


Signor V.

Are you gonna continue this crap in all your posts now? Behave yourself.

Thanks Signor and it was a ch*nks laundromat

Forget the racist terms, Japseye. You won't be warned again.

Very Cool.

Since the earlier posts in this thread were made (way back in 2005 - 2006), there has been a wealth of additional information available on the Net that, IMO, settles things once and for all about Louis’ Italian-American Restaurant, its location and history. So, let’s separate fact from fiction:

Fiction: The restaurant seen in the film was actually named Luna, or Luna Azure.

Fact: The name was always Louis, and it was not changed for GF1. The full name of the establishment was Louis’ Italian-American Restaurant. Check out this actual period photograph with NRA signs in the windows:



This NRA stood for the National Recovery Act (not the National Rifle Association), so that would put the date of the photo from mid-1933 to mid-1935, when the NRA was in effect.



Notice how the architecture in the period picture above matches the photo of Francis Ford Coppola taking a break during filming:



There was a Luna restaurant in GF1, but it was not the place where Michael shot Sollozzo and McCluskey; in a deleted scene (restored for the GF Saga and the GF Epic) this was where Clemenza took a long lunch (and got the cannolis) before Paulie was whacked (see photo).



Additional photos of actor Richard Castellano in front of the Luna Restaurant can be found in the book The Annotated Godfather by Jenny M. Jones, page 96. Neither restaurant’s name was altered for the film.

Fact: In an earlier post in this thread, Sicilian Babe noted that her uncle and his family lived directly above Louis' Restaurant, and the name was always Louis. (As I understand, the restaurant was closed by 1977.) Personally speaking, her word was good enough for me, but additional proof is always welcome for the purpose of this post.

Fact: A menu and wine list, circa 1923, still survives! (25 cents for a martini!!) As you can see, the name was always Louis, and note the address – 3531 White Plains Avenue, before the street was renamed White Plains Road. Now in the possession of the Natale family (their relatives owned the restaurant), check out these photos:





If you look closely at the menu's interior, you'll see that on the left-hand page, everything is in English; on the right-hand page, everything is in Italian.



And, now, for what I consider the absolute final word on the subject, you must read this:

Discussion of Louis' Restaurant on Chowhound (This is page 7 of a longer article, but the important stuff starts here, IMO.)

Many of the photos I posted here came from this article.

Conclusion: Based on all the proof available, the restaurant was, and always was until the day it closed: Louis' Italian-American Restaurant. (I know, I know… the 1930’s photo says Loui’s!)

I now step away from the arguing – that is, if there’s still anyone left who wants to argue. That being the case, I know a place where we can sit down and discuss this - and the veal is the best in the city. (Excuse me while I go to the bathroom… is that alright?)


Signor V.

Grazie mille V.

Very cool.

Great post Signor Vitelli. Thanks for sharing. Salud!

Apologies if I've missed the point of the discussion, but Luna Azure is the name of the restaurant in the novel. The one where the hits occur, not where Clemenza has lunch.

On this site's filming locations page it states that the interior shots of the Sollozzo meeting were filmed at the Luna restaurant on White Plains Rd. Is that true?

Excellent post Signor Vitelli, great history lesson.

According to the info provided in Signor Vitelli's post the scene was filmed on White Plains Rd. but the restaurant was named Louis not Luna Azure.

The site's filming location page may be incorrect.

You are correct. Luna Azure is the name of the restaurant in the novel where Michael shoots Solozzo.

Signor Vitelli's post was talking about the film version. It was filmed in Louis Italian American Restaurant. The film version did not change the name of the restaurant to match the name of the restaurant in the novel.

The deleted scene of Clemenza having lunch and picking up the cannoli's were filmed at a Luna Restaurant. I found some information online that it was located on Mulberry St. Not sure how true that is but that is what I read.

Yes, outstanding

If you look closely at the picture posted above of Clemenza exiting the restaurant, you can see the beginnings of what looks like an L on the restaurant's window. So it very well could be named Luna since it doesn't look at all like Louis'

There is a Ristorante Luna located at 115 Mulberry St. Looking on google maps street view off to the left side there is a little Franciscan Fathers Church of the most precious blood that looks like it was built after the movie was filmed. This looks like it is built on the parking lot in the deleted scene where Paulie parks and waits with the car while Clemenza gets out walks around the corner to walk in the restaurant.

Quite right - it is the "L" in Luna, written in longhand script. In the book I mentioned earlier, there are three other photos, shot at the same time (between takes), and in two of them the full neon sign in the window is clearly visible and legible. Unfortunately, those three photos have not been posted on the Net, and - believe me - I looked and looked. The only photo I found of Clemenza by the Luna Restaurant was the one I posted, where the front window is not fully visible.

What I will try and do is scan the photos from the book (The Annotated Godfather) and post them here. I'm not familiar with my fiancées scanner, so I probably will have to ask for assistance from her or her daughter but I will try and get them posted here reasonably soon.


Signor V.

Here are those photos - scans taken from the book The Annotated Godfather. Our scanner is quite dodgy, so these photos are not as "clean" as I would have liked, but they are quite legible, nevertheless. The "tryptic" photo is the way the pictures appear in the book; I separated them individually for better clarity. You can clearly see (I hope) the neon sign in the window says Luna Restaurant. The actual location? I confess I haven't the foggiest idea. Perhaps additional research will uncover the answer.


Signor V.

I checked out the Luna on Mulberry St. It's impossible to tell for sure, but I seriously doubt it could be the one in the film.

Brilliant research and outstanding posts, Signor V. Thanks!!

One point: that menu couldn't have been from 1923. Prohibition was in effect, and listing prices for cocktails and wine would have provided The Law with evidence of Prohibition violation. Sure, lots of restaurants served wine and booze in those years, but they didn't put it on the menu.

TB, the menu could have been from 1923; the wine and liquor list from pre-1920.

Also, much enforcement of the Volstead Act was left to the states. New York repealed its enforcement act in 1923.

A valid point about Prohibition.

In the discussion on Chowhound that I linked to in an earlier post, it was said that the menu was "dated 1923." While the scans I found of the menu and wine list do not confirm this, I have a different scan of the entire wine list I've posted below (not the greatest resolution, but I can't find the original image online at this point) where it says toward the bottom right under "Champagne," Piper-Heidsieck (1923). Personally, I don't think I've ever seen a menu with a printed date on it, so I figured that either the date was noted by hand on the back of the menu (no scan of that, though), or the person who said that it was dated 1923 was referring to the vintage of the champagne.

That's why I said "circa 1923" in my post. I really can't vouch for the actual date of the menu beyond what I've mentioned. It may very well have been later.

Any oenophiles out there?


Signor V.

Unlike Burgundy and Bordeaux, where growers bottle a vintage wine each year, Champagne growers blend their annual output of wines into non-vintage bottlings. They only "declare" a vintage wine in an especially good year (like 1923). Vintage champagnes are highly prized, and growers keep them off the market until prices are right. There is no way a 1923 Champagne would be in a restaurant in 1923.

You're right. I should have realized.

I am, by no means, a wine expert or even drinker of same. The only thing I know about wine or whiskey or any of that stuff is that I occasionally cook with it. My alcoholic beverage of choice is beer. Vodka, to me, tastes like benzene, tequila like turpentine, and so on. Chacun à son goût.

So, it appears that the wine list - if not the whole menu itself - must date from later than 1923. Both the vintage year and Prohibition make for persuasive arguments.

Today, I had some time on my hands so I took a trip up to the Bronx to see what the site looks like. Workers were still removing inventory from the former fabric store (which closed about a month ago, I was told) and bringing it to the new location not far away. I could see the tin ceiling was still intact, but they would not let me into the store to look around. The two windows flanking the front entrance had been shattered; all I could think of was that the high heat and higher humidity made for too-oppressive working conditions, so a little impromptu ventilation was the answer. The interior windows on the left-hand wall were cemented over years ago. Where the abandoned gas station used to be (next to the old restaurant, on the left) is now a huge, modern dialysis center. Quite a change from the photos I posted earlier in this thread (in 2006).

Had a couple of slices of pizza at a neighboring pizzeria and rode the Metal Monster (aka the NYC subway) home.


Signor V.

I just started following this thread & it gave me hope for this board that it still has it's roots,,wonderful info . very interesting, no trolls or Trump this or that , race bullshit.. I like it here better on this thread,,this is 4 real a popcorn thread, maybe some pizza too.

I admit that I haven't posted much here in quite awhile (except for the Dead Pool), but I'm always interested in a good, informative discussion. I have little patience for the contentious stuff and choose not to get involved.

Here's something that may (or may not) be of interest:

Out of curiosity I decided to do a little (and I do mean little) bit of digging to see where the Luna/Louis misinformation began. While I uncovered no concrete answers, I did uncover my old paperback copy of The Godfather Journal by Ira Zuckerman. My copy is the second printing, dated November, 1972.

For me, this book is important because it may have been among the first (if not the first) books dealing with the filming. And yet, while Zuckerman said he worked as an assistant to Francis Ford Coppola on GF1 and was there during the filming (the book comes from Zuckerman’s journal), there is this from page 50:

2nd DAY OF SHOOTING MONDAY MARCH 29

First day of filming in the studio. It is an interior night car scene in which Michael is taken to the Luna Restaurant for the Sollozzo meeting, with Police Captain McClusky in attendance.

And this from page 51:

4th DAY OF SHOOTING WEDNESDAY MARCH 31

On location at the Luna Restaurant in the Bronx. The scene of Michael’s murder of Sollozzo and McClusky, and his getaway.

Every time this guy mentions the restaurant in his book, he refers to it as Luna. And he was there, on the set? Hmmm….

Thirty-five years later, The Annotated Godfather by Jenny M. Jones (2007) perpetuates the error on page 124:

Louis’ Restaurant was actually Old Luna Restaurant on White Plains Road near Gun Hill Road, the Bronx.

Zuckerman also gets details wrong about the filming of Sonny's assassination. Anyway, I think I'll leave this tangled web of confusion for now. It's late and I'm tired!


Signor V.

Sometimes people who work on films do forget the names of places where they filmed. Although, if this guy writes a book, he should have done the research and got everything right . I've seen directors bungle the location names of shooting locations, even getting the name of the suburb wrong. I assume the company that produces the film (Paramount, in the case of GF) scouts the location. Maybe the director will go along. The details, address, things like that, are probably only kept as record by the production company. All the people working on the film just remember the locations and addresses long enough to know where to show up.

Another interesting tidbit:

Ever wonder what the poster was, on the fence to the left of the restaurant? It's only seen for a moment, and not as bright as the picture below:



It's a poster for Palisades Amusement Park. Here is a nearly identical one, from the 1940's:



I think one of the things that has always fascinated me about GF 1 & 2 is the attention to period detail, both in the general look of the films and in the smaller things that might pass unnoticed at first.


Signor V.