Four-minute read
Netflix at Fort Monmouth officially breaks ground
Netflix’s new studio complex being built at Fort Monmouth will span 292 acres.
- A former liquor store in Middletown has been transformed into a fictional truck stop for a Netflix series.
- The series, titled “Rabbit, Rabbit,” will star Adam Driver as an escaped convict.
- The realistic set caused some local residents to initially mistake it for a real business.
MIDDLETOWN — The former Circus liquor store on Route 35 here has been turned into Jep’s Xpress, a fictional truck stop offering gasoline, a free shower and $1 hot dogs, to serve as the setting of a Netflix series starring Adam Driver.
The convenience store built for “Rabbit, Rabbit,” is so life-like that motorists on quick glance wondered if Buc-ee’s, the truck stop known for its pristine bathrooms and fine cuisine, had somehow decided to open in Middletown. The logos have similar yellow backdrops, but Jep’s mascot is a bluebird, while Buc-ee’s features a smiling beaver wearing a baseball cap.
“We don’t even have that many 18-wheeler trucks on Route 35,” said Jane Naha, 63, of Middletown, who pictured a traffic nightmare before she learned it was a set for a film production. “I’m thrilled it’s temporary. I’m over the moon it’s temporary.”
“Rabbit, Rabbit” was expected to begin filming in March and last through June, continuing an influx of television and movie production that has come to the Garden State thanks in part to generous tax incentives. It will join notable projects including “Severance” at Bell Works in Holmdel; “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” in Asbury Park and Freehold; and “The Last Mrs. Parrish,” starring Jennifer Lopez, in Middletown.
It’s also a sign of potentially more Hollywood productions to come in this region, as Netflix transforms the former Fort Monmouth into an East Coast movie studio.
The production crews for “Rabbit, Rabbit” descended on the property in January, leasing a building that has been well-known to Shore residents for its clown sign on the side of Route 35. It’s long-time tenant, Circus Wines Beer & Liquor, moved to a new spot 1-1/2 miles up Route 35 about a year ago.
Lou Scaduto Jr., whose family owns the property through Mountain Hill LLC, watched the project come together from his office, through the bitter cold and blizzard in recent weeks. When the filming is done, he said, crews will restore it to its former state, although they have made some lasting improvements to the parking lot and interior.
“The whole facade is fake, but if you look at it, you’d never know it,” Scaduto said.
“Rabbit, Rabbit” is written by Peter Craig, who co-wrote “The Town” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” Aside from Driver, known for his role as Kylo Ren in the “Star Wars” sequels, the series features Regina Hall, who was in the recent Best Picture Oscar winner “One Battle After Another,” and Odessa Young, who played Springsteen’s girlfriend in “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” according to Netflix.
In “Rabbit, Rabbit,” Netflix says, Driver plays an escaped convict who finds himself in a volatile hostage situation. That helps explain the Illinois State Police SWAT vehicle parked in the lot.
The production has been a major talking point in town. Piper Fraumeni, who works two days a week as a cashier at 4Twenty Smoke Shop across from Jep’s Xpress, said she’s been fielding questions about the construction from customers. It hasn’t led to more foot traffic yet, but she is holding out hope, she said.
“I come back here each week, and I’m, like, ‘Oh, whoa, they built so much, so fast,'” Fraumeni said.
The truck stop on Route 35 is an impressive sight, but there are plenty of clues it’s fiction. Jep’s Xpress isn’t a real place. The other stores on the signage, Marie’s and BuBuns, don’t exist. And the Silverleaf Berryworks, whose truck in the parking lot urges motorists to “start your day the berry way” doesn’t even have a social media presence.
But Karen Farawell, the owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in the Town Brook Commons shopping center across the street from the production, said the biggest difference between fact and fiction for her was how quickly she saw an abandoned property brought back to life.
“I have things that are falling down around here, and I called the property manager, and he’s, like, ‘Yeah, we have to wait until the weather gets warmer. And I’m, like, ‘Really? Because they built that thing like this,'” Farawell said with the snap of her fingers.
Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter for the Asbury Park Press. He has been writing about the New Jersey economy, real estate market and health care industry since 1999. He can be reached at [email protected].
