Tyler Hynes Hopes Always Amore Serves as a Love Letter to the Restaurant Industry

©2022 Crown Media United States LLC/ Allister Foster

As we previously reported, celebrity chef, and New York Times best-selling author Giada De Laurentiis has teamed up with the Hallmark Channel to bring us a food-centric new movie. De Laurentiis serves as executive producer for Always Amore, which stars Hallmark favorites Autumn Reeser and Tyler Hynes as well as Academy Award nominee, Patty McCormack.

The story centers around Elizabeth (Reeser) who is struggling to keep her late husband's restaurant, Cibo È Vita, afloat and keep her beloved Marco's memory alive. Elizabeth has the support of her staff, her mother-in-law Nonna (McCormack) and her biggest fan, daughter Sofia, but it's not enough. The business is in serious trouble.

Enter Ben (Hynes), a career restaurant fixer; the person who travels from restaurant to restaurant to review and help revamp the business in every aspect from finances to menu items, and even décor of the building itself. In a recent conversation with Southern Living, Hynes shared where he got his inspiration for this character. "I mean I've watched my fair share of Mr. Ramsay and big fan of Anthony Bourdain," he said with a chuckle.

But clearly Ben has a softer, more compassionate approach. He already has a reputation for saving countless restaurants from closure but not without a lot of change, and Elizabeth isn't sure she wants to embrace those ideas.

Eventually Elizabeth warms to Ben and his new ideas. He also guides her back to her passion for baking and well, maybe, just maybe some romantic sparks fly as well. Wink, wink.

Under the guidance of De Laurentiis, there is great attention to detail of not only restaurant life but Italian food and culture. There is also no shortage of gorgeous food on display throughout the film. If you watch on an empty stomach, you'll surely be hungry before the end credits roll. You've been warned.

But perhaps the biggest takeaway from this movie, is precisely what Hynes told us was his biggest motivation for taking the role. "It's a love letter to the restaurant industry."

"I thought this is an opportunity to hopefully service that service industry in some way. I'm sure there are other movies on the Hallmark Channel that do that but for me, I hadn't it. And I thought what a lovely moment given the last two years to be able to hopefully have some of these people who are in the hospitality industry feel somewhat represented and maybe even find some inspiration, or hope, or catharsis in watching these characters go through something that perhaps they've gone through."

FORTUNE reported, "more than 110,000 eating and drinking establishments in the United States closed for business—temporarily or permanently," in 2020. The crisis isn't over and the service industry is still recovering. Clearly this issue was front of mind for all involved in Always Amore. "The fact that they've had to sort of endure this situation that is no one's fault is tough. It's such a lovely industry to be hit and affected in such a severe way. It's nice to maybe try to do something and provide something in that arena," Hynes said.

WATCH: How Tyler Hynes Hopes Hallmark is Creating a New Golden Age of Romantic Comedies

Hynes hopes that the movie will inspire those who feel comfortable to do so, to "go break bread with someone they love or their family," at a local restaurant in their community. If you would like to find other ways to help those in the service industry who are struggling, both the LEE Initiative and Southern Smoke Foundation have created programs to address this need.

Don't miss the premiere of Always Amore, April 3 at 9PM EST on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.