Diksha Sundriyal
Prime Video’s ‘A Million Miles Away’ follows the story of Jose Hernandez as he embarks on the journey to turn his dream into a reality. The son of immigrant farmworkers, Jose decides to become an astronaut when he sees the Moon Landing on TV. He knows that his place is among the stars. As he grows older, his desire to go to space gets stronger, and he gives everything he has to the dream.
While the story’s endgame is to have Jose become an astronaut, its soul lies within the story of his family, whose love and support play an essential role in getting Jose to his destination. He, too, supports the dreams of his family, especially his wife, Adela Hernandez, who wants to become a chef and run her own restaurant. She finally does it after Jose is accepted for the space program. The restaurant is named Tierra Luna Grill. If you are wondering whether it is a real place and if it’s still operational, here’s what you need to know.
Is Tierra Luna Grill a Real Restaurant?
Yes, Tierra Luna Grill was a real restaurant that Adela and Jose Hernandez opened while he was working at NASA. The place gained a reputation for its great food and hospitality and was close to the Johnson Space Centre, which meant that many NASA astronauts and scientists were regular customers here. If you wish to visit the place, you will be disappointed to know that it’s not operational anymore. The Hernandez family closed it when Jose retired from NASA, and they moved to Lodi, California.
The idea of a restaurant had always been in Adela’s mind. Like her husband’s dream was to be an astronaut, her dream was to open her own restaurant. In the movie, she sacrifices her dream for a while, at least, to give Jose the time and resources to chase his dream. They eventually come around to it when Jose joins the space program. In real life, things happened a bit differently.
While Hernandez had been applying for the space program, he got the opportunity to work for NASA as an engineer. Adela encouraged him to take the job even though he was getting rejections for the space program. When he started working there, Adela opened the Tierra Luna Grill near the space center. The restaurant was family-run, where Jose pitched in after work, along with their children. The name of the place referred to Earth and Moon, and the menu also featured the names of the planets.
When Jose was selected for the space program and later to go to space, the restaurant acted as a distraction for Adela, who was excited, nervous, and anxious at the same time. Even when he came back from space, the restaurant was functional, and the visitors would often spot Jose there, sometimes waiting tables, sometimes cleaning.
Jose received tortillas from the restaurant made by his wife when he was in space. Even now, tortillas are a staple for astronauts, though getting fresh ones from Earth is a little tricky. In 2011, Jose retired from NASA, and the family decided to move to Lodi to be near his parents. As a result, the restaurant had to be closed. While Tierra Luna Grill is gone, the astronauts, scientists, and other locals who had turned it into their regular haunt remember it and the food fondly.
Read More: Where Was A Million Miles Away Filmed?
