From the Olympics to NSB: Award-winning actor John Travolta visits local restaurant

New Smyrna Beach welcomed a very special guest to its dining scene over the weekend, with Hollywood icon John Travolta enjoying dinner at Via Canaletto restaurant Saturday night.

Travolta or “JT” as Via Canaletto owner Leon Geller calls him, has visited the fine dining Italian restaurant several times since its 2023 opening — even a few times prior — as he’s been a good friend of Geller’s for over a decade now.

The two met through mutual friends back in early 2010 in Ocala, Geller said, and the friendship naturally “evolved from there.”

“He gave us a heads up, and we hadn’t met up in a while so he was like, ‘Hey, I’m coming back from Paris — from the Olympics. Do you want to go have dinner?’ Just like normal,” Geller said in an interview with The News-Journal.

“... He’s been (to the restaurant) a couple times before and after we opened up, you know? Sometimes on a whim if he’s in the area or traveling through. As you know, he’s one of the busiest men on the planet.”

News of his arrival was kept quiet, Geller noted, and he was seated at a corner table in the restaurant where he enjoyed “a medley” of chef Antonio Mazzella's creations, including the swordfish puttanesca special, carbonara, lasagna and bucatini with meat sauce.

“JT is — he’s a food connoisseur,” Geller said. “… and chef Antonio, he does the majority of his food from scratch,” from his sauces and meatballs to his tiramisu, burrata and mozzarella cheeses, not to mention a featured house pasta each night.

“And that’s obviously a good pull as well — (Travolta) loves chef’s food.”

Word to your mother: Vanilla Ice visits Flagler Beach restaurant

Travolta: Hollywood icon and no stranger to the Sunshine State

Travolta, 70, wears many hats — award-winning actor, producer, singer, dancer and pilot, to name a few.

The Lifetime Achievement Award-winner is known for his roles in iconic films like "Saturday Night Fever," "Grease" and "Pulp Fiction," and is one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood with a successful career that has spanned over five decades.

Back in the late ‘80s, Travolta even owned a property at the Spruce Creek Fly-In in Port Orange where he, to the dismay of some quiet-seeking airpark residents, often flew his 1964 Boeing 707. The jet was previously owned by Frank Sinatra, according to reports by The Guardian, and has since been donated by Travolta to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, as noted in Flying Magazine.

Since then, Travolta has been a longtime resident of Jumbolair Aviation and Equestrian Estates — home to “the largest, licensed, private runway in North America,” according to its website — in Ocala where he’s maintained his $10 million property for roughly two decades now.

However, when the busy star does find himself back in town, he often brings with him a contagious positivity, Geller said.

“Especially nowadays, we see so many things in the news and on TV and everything that’s negative, so it’s good to have somebody — JT is just one of the best people I’ve ever met in my entire life, and I’ve been all over the world,” Geller said.

“He’s the greatest human and, like I said, when people come in, he never turns anyone down. He’s super personable and it’s just — it's good. It’s good to have him here, and we hope to have him more in the future.”

Via Canaletto is located at 317 N. Orange St. in New Smyrna Beach and is open 4 – 9 p.m. Wednesday – Sunday. Reservations are recommended. For information, call 386-410-2220 or visit viacanaletto.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: John Travolta, legendary actor, visits New Smyrna Beach restaurant