When people first started walking in Campaniaa restaurant on Staten Island known for its coal-fired pizza, and asked about “Kim,” Nicole Bressi, a waiter there, didn’t quite understand.
Ms Bressi said: “I said, ‘Kim isn’t here today, but check back tomorrow. “It took me a couple of times to realize that they weren’t talking about my friend Kim, who works here with me. They’re talking about Kim Kardashian. “
Last November Miss Kardashian, reality TV star and recent influencer stir up debate when she wore a Marilyn Monroe dress to this year’s Met Gala, visited the restaurant in Dongan Hills, one of the Campanias across the borough, and Brooklyn. She was accompanied by her boyfriend, comedian Pete Davidson, who was born and raised on Staten Island.
Rumor has it the couple’s romantic date is on the rooftops of Campania, where they forgo the truffle mac and cheese and the $150 seafood tower, opting for pizza margherita, salad and sangria instead. Soon, the crowd had gathered at the restaurant.
“It was crazy,” said Umberto Guzman, a manager. “The phone rang and we had to wait in long lines every day. People wanted to sit on the roof all winter because that’s where she sat, but I had to explain to them that the roof was closed because it was cold.”
Six months later, the attention still hasn’t dropped.
“A lot of people ask us about Kim, now we make up stories,” Ms. Bressi said. “I wasn’t even here when Kim was here, but now I say, ‘Oh yeah, we had coffee. That’s lovely.'”
Mr. Davidson has long been an ambassador for his home county, making movie about it rely on your life and buy something that no longer exists Staten Island Ferry boat, with plans to turn it into an entertainment venue. He also seems to have an apartment on Staten Island, although he has remove suggestion about to move to Brooklyn. One of his most famous skits on “Saturday Night Live” where his departure was announced recently, as a song “Walking in Memphis,” use lyrics about Staten Island instead of. “We have about 80 bagels and every block has a pizza place,” he sings.
He took his celebrity girlfriend to all of his favorite spots on Staten Island. The media and fans of Ms. Kardashian – and locals looking for a hit – have noticed.
Some say the attention is too great. Mr. Luisi said: “I don’t want to queue anymore because it annoys my customers. “We have been very busy since opening last April because our food and service are excellent. We don’t even need her.”
The couple also went to the movies on Staten Island. Jesse Scarola, owner of Atrium Stadium Cinema, an independent theater near Great Kills with 11 screens and video games. “The president can be here, and it won’t get any bigger.”
When Ms. Kardashian visited in the winter to see “House of Gucci,” hundreds of people bought tickets or waited in the parking lot for a quick look.
Christina Ortalano, 46, chief executive officer of Bank of America, who lives in Prince’s Bay, on the South Shore, said: “My kids saw her there on social media and jumped in the car to try it out. she. “Some people acted like they didn’t care, but they did. Everyone is marked with an asterisk.”
Mr. Scarola, the owner of Atrium, still gets a boost from Miss Kardashian’s one-time visit. “A few weeks ago, someone called, someone from the suburbs, saying he wanted to go to the theater that Kim visited,” he said. “He rented out the entire theater to his friends and paid for everyone’s popcorn and food.”
Staten Island Councilman Joseph Borelli is grateful that the cinema is getting some attention. “The Atrium is like a throwback to the old days, where kids hang out at the cinema and giggle in the back with their friends,” he said. “The atriums have been crushed during the pandemic, and it’s good that their names are in the news for a good cause.”
Vincent Malerba, owner of Angelina’s Ristorante, a riverside, chandelier-decorated restaurant in Tottenville, says he’s no stranger to celebrities. “There are two studios on the property, one in the old prison and the other in the old brewery, so we get tons of them,” he said. “But nobody did to us what Kim did.”
A photo he took with the couple received thousands of likes Instagram. “We have never had such contact before,” Mr. Malerba said. “People started coming from Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, South Jersey, everywhere.” He hopes people will come for Miss Kardashian but come back for the good food and service.
“We have always known that Angelina’s and Campania are two of the biggest restaurants in the city. “That’s good for Staten Island’s food scene in general.”
Indeed, the number of visitors at Clinton HallTelly Hatzigeorgiou, the owner, says a new outdoor bar on the waterfront at Empire Outlets in St. George, has doubled in the past three months. “There’s a couple of things going on; it’s not a one-trick pony,” he said. “It’s warm now. After Covid, people wanted to get out. But I think Kim definitely has something to do with it, too. I hear people talking about her all the time.”
Of course, not everyone wants Staten Island to get more attention.
Every summer, Ruby Hernandez, who works in learning and development for an accounting firm and lives near Times Square, escapes with her boyfriend to Staten Island to a quiet beach. “I won’t tell you where it is,” she said.
“If Kim goes there, I want to take a picture with her, but then I wouldn’t want the crowd to follow,” she said. “I want my beach to remain unexplored. It’s nice and quiet and it’s not dirty. ”
Jan Zabka, a journalist from Prague, visited Staten Island last weekend to see the Manhattan skyline from afar. As a tourist, he said he was much more interested in seeing another famous female figure, one made of bronze: the Statue of Liberty.
Mr Borelli, the councilor, said he hoped that once visitors were on the island, they would explore. “I think they’ll be shocked to see how much outdoor recreation there is,” he said. “There are four miles of hiking and mountain biking trails on my property.”
Some Staten Islanders enjoy their daily lives. Jim Sarlo, 61, a site curator at the National Lighthouse Museum, said: “When I go out to smoke on the rocks by the river, I’ll see Pete coming out of his apartment right next to the museum” Sunday, though he’s not sure the comedian still lives there. He said he had seen Ms. Kardashian leave Mr. Davidson’s apartment and walk towards the ferry a few times.
“I just said, ‘Hey, sup? “” He say. “That’s what we say on Staten Island.”
