Bello Tea Owner Enjoyed 'Mob Wives Chicago' Filming Experience

When owner Tammy Reddy exchanged emails with producers connected to a TV project about filming a scene , she didn't know what the show was called or about. She knew it was a pilot for a possible Vh1 show, but beyond that, she had no clue. She signed a release agreeing not to talk about the show she didn't know anything about, and a scene was filmed. All told, the filmmakers were in-and-out of her store in about a hour-and-a-half.

The show ended up being 'Mob Wives Chicago', and the series premiered last weekend on Vh1 with . Reddy, who was later told in April what the show was and when it would air, watched the episode in her hotel while on vacation last week.

Reddy remembers the filming experience with nothing but positivity, even though the scene featuring Bello—which is of two of the show's characters talking over tea—wasn't the most exciting scene.

“It was a lot of fun, and the crew is very professional,” Reddy said.

In the scene, Bello Tea looks empty except for the two women and one other guy reading, but Reddy said there were other customers coming in while they were filming. It was a slow day, though, because of the snow. Reddy added the scene was shot during regular store hours and the filmmakers made no demands of Reddy or the store, though she tried to be quiet while they were there.

“We tried to stay out of their way,” Reddy said. “They had mics all over that would pick us up if talked a lot so we tried to be discrete.”

Reddy said the crew returned weeks later while they were filming at other locations, but it wasn't to film—they wanted to buy more of her drinks. And since there was no compensation involved for allowing them to film, she welcomed the business. One of the other locations the show filmed at was , which found its way into the second episode which aired on Sunday. Though full-video of the second episode isn't yet on Vh1's website, the show airs pretty frequently, so it shouldn't be hard to find.