A slice of Petaluma may appear during a Super Bowl commercial. But don't blink or you may miss it.
A production company spent a day this week filming a Chrysler ad at Petaluma's legendary Volpi's Ristorante & Bar on Washington Street.
Film crews shot a customer walking out of the old-time building's swinging doors and walking toward his Dodge truck out front, said co-owner Mary Lee Volpi.
Don't look for the colorful Volpi's speakeasy signs on the windows, though. The production crew transformed the place into a donut shop instead of the venerable Italian eatery.
Volpi family members are accustomed to film crews using their storefront and interiors. And they know the reality of Hollywood - sometimes footage gets left on the cutting-room floor.
"I don't think you'll even be able to tell it's us," Volpi said. "They can change the whole look of the building."
She and her husband, John, were in a Listerine mouthwash commercial years ago, for which they received residual payments for years. Sometimes film companies offer payment and sometimes not, she said.
But, Mary Lee Volpi acknowledged, the possibility of having her family's restaurant shown on the largest TV stage possible - during the Super Bowl with much-anticipated multimillion-dollar ads - is a bit of fun.
"Tell everyone to watch for a Dodge truck," she said.
The production company also shot footage at a farm a few miles west of Petaluma for the same commercial. Chelsea Pictures representatives couldn't be reached for comment.
Petaluma has long been a draw for film producers. Its dutifully restored Victorian homes and vintage storefronts in the downtown area have been the backdrop for movies, TV shows and commercials.
Filming has picked up in Petaluma in the past year, said Katie Crump, assistant to the city manager, who handles the city's film permits. In 2009, seven permits were issued. In 2011, there were 13, and there have been two so far this month.
There have been as many as three dozen film permits issued in a year, Crump said.
In the past two years, several episodes of the Discovery Channel show "I (Almost) Got Away With It" were filmed in the auxiliary courthouse in Petaluma's City Hall.
"It's kind of nice. I think people are getting excited about filming again," she said. "It's fun to watch the comings and goings.
"Hopefully with spring around the corner and the weather turning nice again, it will pick up even more."
It's unclear how much film crews benefit the city financially, although they often eat at local restaurants and stay overnight.
According to the permit, the Chrysler shoot included 65 cast and crew members and two nights in local hotels.
Estimated production costs were $750,000, about a third of that to be spent on the Petaluma filming. That includes salaries, equipment rentals and other items brought in with them, Crump said.
Another production crew, Panlicker Productions Inc., a Petaluma-based crew, shot part of a Dickies clothing catalog this week. Their estimates included 14 cast and crew with three nights in local hotels and $40,000 in production costs.
The crew used American Alley, Acre Coffee on Fourth Street and Universal Billiards on Petaluma Boulevard North for its fall clothing still shots highlighting the line's work clothes.
"It's hard to quantify what actually is left in the city, other than it's always good PR," Crump said. "We want them to take away good impressions and happy experiences."
You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 762-7297 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.
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