Is there anything better than discovering a white-bowed little blue box under the tree at Christmastime? (Hint to all you gentlemen out there!) Capitalizing on that concept, Amazon Prime has released “Something from Tiffany’s,” a new holiday-themed original based upon Melissa Hill’s 2011 novel of the same name. Directed by Daryl Wein, the rom-com, which debuted last week, follows the story of two not-so-singletons, New York-based chef/baker Rachel Meyer (Zoey Deutch) and visiting novelist/creative writing professor Ethan Greene (Kendrick Sampson), who are brought together via a package mix-up at the famed Manhattan jewelry retailer one fateful December night.
Although The Guardian describes the film as “charming enough,” this writer found it one of the better holiday movies released this year, thanks to a fabulous cast (Jojo T. Gibbs, who plays Rachel’s hilariously deadpan BFF/business partner Terri Blake, is a definite standout), Deutch and Sampson’s undeniable chemistry and the alluring restaurant at the center of it all.
While set in New York, filming took place in both the Big Apple and Los Angeles, with the former pulling the heavy weight. The Soho Tiffany & Co. outpost, located at 97 Greene St., is where the star-crossed jewelry swap occurs, with Rachel’s longtime boyfriend, slacker Gary Wilson (Ray Nicholson), accidentally picking up the diamond engagement ring actually meant for Ethan’s girlfriend, the impeccably stylish Vanessa (Shay Mitchell). The picturesque Pier 35, overlooking the East River on the Lower East Side, plays Ethan’s “secret New York spot.” Bryant Park’s bustling Holiday Shops make an appearance as the site of Rachel’s restaurant pop-up. And the High Line, a gorgeous elevated-train-track-turned-urban-park, also cameos briefly.
On the West Coast side of things, Cole’s French Dip, a historic downtown L.A. eatery that often substitutes for NYC watering holes onscreen, is the spot where Rachel and Ethan grab a drink mid-film. The two also take an evening stroll down the 500 block of S. Broadway. And it is in front of Palacio De Oro jewelry store, one of Tiffany & Co.’s lesser-known competitors, that Rachel introduces Ethan to the culinary joys of feasting on a cornetto, aka the “little-known Italian cousin of the renowned croissant.”
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Image Credit: Google Rachel’s restaurant/bakery, Gillini, can also be found in the City of Angels. Purported to be at 1247 Orchard St. in Little Italy, the eatery was actually faked at a long-vacant downtown storefront located at 400 S. Main St., on the ground level of the San Fernando Building, a sprawling Beaux Arts structure designed by John F. Blee in 1907. With its diagonally-positioned corner doors, sidewalk patio seating and obvious urban setting, the space seamlessly masks as a Big Apple locale in the movie (signage of DTLA’s oft-filmed Hotel Barclay clearly visible in the background of several scenes notwithstanding).
In real life, the space most recently housed Ledlow, a New American bar and restaurant that was originally founded as Pete’s Cafe in 2002 but was taken over by Josef Centeno, of Bäco Mercat, Bar Amá and Orsa & Winston fame, in 2014. Though the celebrated chef overhauled the place’s menu and interior, transforming it into what the Food Network described as an “American comfort-food concept,” he initially chose to leave the Pete’s moniker intact, telling Los Angeles magazine, “Pete’s has been here on this corner since 2002, before any downtown revitalization was really underway. It paved the way for the opening of restaurants like Bäco Mercat.” That decision led to massive frustration amongst regulars, who popped into the familiar-sounding haunt expecting their typical favorites but instead were met with new décor and fare. To avoid further confusion, the name was promptly changed to “Ledlow Swan” and then a couple of months later to just simply “Ledlow,” causing Eater LA to declare the space “the P. Diddy of the restaurant world.” In 2016, the locale underwent yet another significant reimagining when Centeno split the site into two, keeping one half Ledlow and turning the other into the vegetarian-based P.Y.T.
Regardless of the many fluctuations, Josef’s culinary offerings were well-received, with L.A. Weekly proclaiming Ledlow’s house burger one of the area’s best, noting, “It’s a fantastic addition to the burger landscape citywide, mixing just the right parts of nostalgia, technique and ingredients to become an instant top option for anyone craving some beef and bun downtown.” The eatery also became well-known for its Sunday brunches and while homemade buttery croissants and sugar-topped donut holes were included on the menu, there’s no word if Rachel’s beloved cornettos were also served.
Sadly, Ledlow shuttered in early 2018 and P.Y.T. followed in 2019, with Eater LA deeming the latter “one of the saddest closures of the year.” Both spaces have been vacant ever since.
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Image Credit: Google The vacancy allowed “Something from Tiffany’s” production designer Dan Bishop, who was also behind the looks of “A Single Man,” “Carnivàle” and “For All Mankind,” to completely take over the once-bustling Ledlow space and thoroughly reimagine it as Gillini. To sell the exterior as being in Manhattan, a sign reading “Orchard St.” was installed in front of the building and the windows were outfitted with a smattering of twinkle lights and a bright red neon Gillini logo.
Faking Los Angeles for New York is actually nothing new for Bishop. In fact, he is quite well-versed in the practice, having worked on all seven seasons of the hit AMC series “Mad Men,” which took place in NYC but was shot in L.A. Of his exceptional aesthetic skills, “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner told IndieWire back in 2020, “He just has an incredible gift for three-dimensional space.” Indeed, he convincingly fashioned the deserted Ledlow into a seemingly functional, not to mention highly aspirational, Big Apple eatery.
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Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video The restaurant’s interior was also painstakingly revamped for the shoot, with the production team transforming the space from a sleek and moody Indigo-hued bistro (as seen here) to a warm and welcoming café. Bishop’s vision included replacing the site’s white tile accenting with wood paneling, swapping the metal countertops for stone versions and trading the blue paint for a soft sage. New pendant lighting was also hung and the side wall outfitted with open timber shelving and bread racks to complete the look.
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Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video Charming from top to bottom, Bishop’s creation proves a far more inviting use of the space than the former design. One look at the interior and you can almost smell the pastries baking! It is exactly the type of place one might fall in love at Christmas!