Grocers are no strangers to movies and television productions. Countless scenes have unfolded in the familiar confines of the supermarket, and some have even achieved iconic status — like the opening of “The Big Lebowski,” when The Dude buys a carton of half & half at Ralphs, or “Double Indemnity,” when Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray plot murder in the aisles of a grocery store.
But this year was particularly notable in Hollywood for grocers, with two major chains and one grocery CEO playing significant roles in highly successful productions.
People who watched the raunchy golf comedy “Happy Gilmore 2” on Netflix this summer saw Adam Sandler’s title character working a shift at Stop & Shop. The scene, which was filmed at one of the chain’s stores in Clifton, New Jersey, shows Gilmore getting into an argument with a customer before throwing him in the store’s lobster tank.
Sprouts Farmers Market landed an even bigger role in Apple TV’s hit sci-fi series “Pluribus.” Shortly after the show’s main character, Carol, becomes one of the few people on Earth unaffected by a highly contagious hive-mind virus, she goes shopping at her local Sprouts only to find the store’s shelves empty.
“I just want my Sprouts back,” she tells the peaceful new alien overseers, in a line that no doubt pleased the specialty grocery chain, which shut down one of its Albuquerque, New Mexico, locations for two days to accommodate filming.
What follows is a memorable sequence in which scores of people work with eerie precision to restock the store. The scene includes a shot of a gleaming, fully stocked Sprouts sales floor, along with a close-up of some private brand olive jars.
While grocers appreciate the Hollywood spotlight, they frequently decline filming requests because of how they can disrupt store operations. But with both “Pluribus” and “Happy Gilmore 2,” the grocers saw an opportunity to be in high-profile productions that would showcase their brands in a positive way.
“We weren’t just a location that we were going to help them film at. Sprouts plays a role in this very important character’s life, and she is one of our customers,” Sprouts Chief Marketing Officer Alisa Gmelich told Marketing Dive.
“Pluribus” is Apple TV’s most-watched drama, while “Happy Gilmore 2” set a record for opening weekend viewership on Netflix.
It wasn’t just grocery stores that grabbed the Hollywood spotlight in 2025. John Catsimatidis, the founder, president and CEO of Red Apple Group, which oversees the Gristedes grocery chain in New York City, has a cameo in the critically acclaimed ping-pong movie “Marty Supreme.”
Catsimatidis’ scene, which includes star Timothée Chalamet, ended up making it into the film’s trailer. The billionaire executive, who also hosts a radio show and once ran for New York City mayor, told The New York Post that the film’s director, Josh Safdie, approached him about the role, noting he was looking for “Upper West Side people.”
“I got a new career at my age,” Catsimatidis, who is 77, told The Post.
