Ironbound in the Spotlight

Newark has become red hot when it comes to in places to live, to work, and increasingly, to visit. While locals may be ho hum about the city’s outstanding arts, entertainment, dining, and shopping scenes, as travelers increasingly embrace greater freedom after years of COVID restrictions, Newark has emerged as an under the radar destination. Not surprisingly, the Ironbound District’s treasure trove of restaurants, cafes, shops and boutiques, reflecting the incredible diversity of the community’s cultural traditions, have been heavily featured.

That trend is born out by the amount of media coverage that has descended on the city post-pandemic. In February, PBS-TV aired a segment devoted to Newark. Ernest White, host of the travel docu-series “Fly Brother,” spend several days in the city, and visited several popular spots in the Ironbound District including longtime favorite Seabra’s Marisqueira for some traditional Portuguese seafood, and Gio Docinhos, to sample the shop’s decadent sweet treats, like Brazilian-style brigadeiros.

In June, Look Up with Darley Newman, another popular PBS travel series, filmed two segments in Newark to include all of the city’s highlights. Newman strolled the Ironbound District’s Ferry Street and enjoyed tapas at Casa d’Paco and the award-winning Portuguese charcuterie from “meat master” Rodrigo Duarte, owner of the Caseiro e Bom gourmet shop.

The coverage continued in the August issue of Bon Appetit, with a feature titled “Where to Eat in Newark’s Ironbound” that included multiple restaurants, cafes and coffee shops. Bon Appetit has an international audience including more than 1.5 million magazine subscribers and six million YouTube subscribers.

The old-world charm and ambiance of the Ironbound District has also attracted the attention of the film industry. Newark has been a popular location for major film studios over the past several years, including Bros (2022), The Sopranos (1999–2007), Joker (2019), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), West Side Story (2021), The Irishman (2019), and The Many Saints of Newark (2021).

This summer, Amazon Studios spent a week in Newark’s Ironbound District filming for its new rom-com, Música, featuring Camila Mendes. Local businesses featured in the production include Popular Fish Market and Mompou Tapas. In April, actor/producer and New York native Ben Stiller, visited Newark to scout locations, including the former Spain Restaurant in the Ironbound, for his latest project.

“In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Forbes Magazine published a feature calling Newark America’s Most Under-Appreciated City, and that helped focus attention on the great things that Newark has to offer,” noted Ricardo Salazar, President & CEO of the Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau (GNCVB). “Over the past several years, journalists from across the U.S. and around the world have contacted us to help them create stories that showcase Newark. In addition to standout venues like NJPAC and the Prudential Center, and historically noteworthy features like the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the Olmsted-designed Branch Brook Park, the Ironbound District is unique to Newark and an authentic gem that is always a highlight for visiting media and content producers.”

“It is always great to welcome visitors to Newark’s Ironbound District, including journalists and other media members,” concluded Vince Baglivo, Executive Director of the Ironbound Business Improvement District (IBID). “Their obvious enjoyment and pleasure experiencing our community has translated to features that invite and attract other visitors to enjoy great food, wine, shopping, entertainment and arts in Newark.”