It might not be Rome or Venice, but Florence, Kentucky, is getting its big break thanks to a Chili's commercial and ... Snooki?
As weird as it sounds, yes, you read that correctly. The restaurant chain tapped "Jersey Shore" star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi to promote its new Chicken Parm Big Crispy chicken sandwich in Florence, of all places.
The video begins with Polizzi stepping out of a bus as the announcer sings a fun (and catchy) jingle about the Northern Kentucky city.
"Welcome to Florence, a city that's only 20 minutes south of Cincinnati, in the heart of North Kentucky," the song starts, while panning to the "pretty cool" Florence Y'all water tower. It then shows Polizzi shopping at the Florence Mall with her proudly proclaiming, "Ugh, I love
it here."
Other spots highlighted in the video were Florence's fire department, a local flower shop, a "well-stocked" Michaels store, and a shot of a plane, highlighting the city's close location to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
"Welcome to Florence, home of the Chicken Parm Big Crispy. An authentic Italian-sounding sandwich in an authentic Italian-sounding town," the restaurant shared on its Instagram Tuesday.
Ironically, the sandwich, which is chicken parm topped with fried mozzarella and marinara sauce, is now available in two other cities, which share monikers with European cities: Rome, Georgia and Venice, Florida.
It will launch nationwide Oct. 20.
The promotional video comes after Polizzi dined at Jeff Ruby's Carlo & Johnny in Montgomery last month. Jeff Rubyposted a photo with Polizzi, saying, "From the Jersey Shore to Carlo & Johnny − always a blast catching up with a fellow Jersey girl."
In her Sept. 28 podcast episode of "It's Happening With Snooki And Joey," she also discussed her visit to Bloom, a drag club in Over-the-Rhine.
From the Jersey Shore to Carlo & Johnny — always a blast catching up with a fellow Jersey girl, @snooki 👊 pic.twitter.com/n9O5ZFY5q8
— Jeff Ruby (@TheRealJeffRuby) September 18, 2026
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Snooki shot a Chili's ad in Florence, and y'all, it's absolutely wild
