'We're on Netflix!' NSB's Breakers restaurant, Flagler Ave. featured in 'Florida Man'
"Hey, I saw you in that Netflix show," isn't a sentence most people will hear in their lifetime.
But it's exactly what employees at The Breakers Restaurant in New Smyrna Beach have been hearing from customers since the streaming giant debuted “Florida Man” on April 13.
Both the restaurant and portions of Flagler Avenue are featured at the beginning of the show’s second episode in what look like establishing drone shots.
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Disney’s “Tomorrowland,” released in 2015, was shot in part on Canal Street in New Smyrna Beach, but its story is not set in the Volusia County city. Conversely, “Florida Man” is set in Florida but was filmed almost entirely in North Carolina.
Debbie Meihls, New Smyrna Beach's film commissioner, said the show's location scout did contact her office and looked around the city, but no filming permit applications were issued.
The show also mentions the city of Port Orange by name, but the context in which it's used might ruin some of the surprises. The city did not receive any permit requests for filming.
What is Netflix’s ‘Florida Man’ about?
The show stars Edgar Ramirez (“The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Hands of Stone,” “Jungle Cruise”) as Mike Valentine, a struggling ex-cop who is forced to return to his home state to chase after a Philadelphia mobster’s girlfriend on the run.
“The show offers a spin on the ‘Florida Man’ meme and recreates a lot of the craziest stories that happened in Florida,” Ramirez said in an interview with the Associated Press. “It does not make fun of that. It has fun with it, which is completely different.”
The seven-episode series is a mix of comedy, family drama and a “treasure hunt,” he added.
The show also stars:
Abbey Lee as Delly West.
Clark Gregg as Sheriff Ketcher.
Paul Schneider as Andy Boone.
Anthony LaPaglia as Sonny Valentine.
Emory Cohen as Moss Yankov.
Lauren Buglioli as Kaitlin Fox.
During the first episode, Ramirez’s character finds a parking ticket issued due to an expired meter at 4620 Flagler Ave. – the parking lot located across the street from the restaurant.
The second episode features an aerial shot of the restaurant, along with Flagler Avenue and the beach.
How are Breakers restaurant patrons reacting?
When he first heard the restaurant was featured on the show, Breakers manager Elliot Schaafsma immediately texted his co-workers: “We’re on Netflix!”
“We all watched it,” Schaafsma said. “Some of us loved the show, some of us hated it. But I thought it was pretty good.”
Then, he said, customers started to come in enthusiastically saying, “You guys are on Netflix!”
“We feel pretty famous,” Schaafsma said.
Terry Bartley, Breakers’ general manager, said he hasn’t watched “Florida Man” yet but liked the fact the restaurant appeared on the show.
“I think it’s great,” Bartley said. “People really have been talking about it around town. It’s always something different when it’s local.”
Bartley said he can’t remember the restaurant ever being featured in a TV show or movie before, despite its near centenarian history – Breakers has been in New Smyrna since 1933, he said.
“You hear customers talking about it, you hear just word of mouth in the street,” Bartley said. “So I think it’s neat.”
Part of the show’s story is set in Coronado Beach, which is a neighborhood of New Smyrna Beach.
Schaafsma said he likes the idea of movies and TV shows being filmed in town, as they could provide an opportunity for more work.
“We’re growing,” Schaafsma said. “Everybody from Orlando and everybody out west, they aren’t going to Daytona anymore, they’re coming here.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Netflix's 'Florida Man' features Breakers restaurant, New Smyrna Beach
