May 12--A few people have walked into Matilda in Lakeview over the last few days thinking it is a Mexican restaurant, only to realize once inside that it's actually a corner tavern. The reason for the confusion? The Matilda sign outside was replaced by an El Burrito Sabroso sign for the Melissa McCarthy movie "Michelle Darnell." McCarthy and co-star Kristen Bell filmed the Universal Pictures comedy Tuesday at Matilda, but the El Burrito Sabroso awning has been up since Friday.
"More than one person has come in thinking it's a Mexican restaurant," said Matilda owner Kevin Abercrombie over the phone Tuesday. "You can tell by the way they look around that they've never been here before. Ironically, a couple people stay to order food and order the burrito."
McCarthy -- an alum of Joliet's St. Francis Academy, now Joliet Catholic Academy -- plays a self-help guru who is trying to rebrand herself after serving time in prison for insider trading. Her husband and Carbondale native Ben Falcone is directing "Michelle Darnell."
The small crowd on hand to watch filming outside Matilda was kept half a block away, with some neighbors prefering to watch from their homes. A spokesperson for the Chicago Film Office said in April that the movie was only scheduled to film in Chicago for one or two days. Filming was expected to take place Tuesday and Wednesday at U.S. Cellular Field, according to a post on 4 Star Casting's Facebook page. Most of the movie is expected to film in Atlanta.
Abercrombie said someone with "Michelle Darnell" contacted him two or three months ago to ask if the film could shoot at Matilda.
"They said the building fit what they were looking to do," said Abercrombie, whose corner tavern was offering a $1 off all Mexican menu items such as margaritas and 5 Rabbit beer in honor of "Michelle Darnell." "The center staircase leads to the apartments upstairs and they wanted to shoot a scene in an apartment upstairs. The other reason is they found a building over on Addison Street they wanted to use but weren't allowed to because they figured there would be too much congestion due to the Cubs game."
lgomez@tribpub.com
Facebook @TribLuis
