Is Britthaven retirement home a real place?

Written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, “The Peanut Butter Falcon” introduces us to Zak, a man with Down Syndrome who was abandoned by his family and lives at the Britthaven Retirement Home. While he is friends with the elderly residents and is well cared for by volunteer Eleanor, Zak realizes that he does not belong there. With the help of his ex-roommate, Zak manages to escape the facility and embarks on a journey to meet his hero, the Salt Water Redneck. While the retirement home has many caring employees, it also seems to have its fair share of problems, making one wonder if the home really exists.

Britthaven was a real retirement home on the Outer Banks

The Britthaven retirement home seen in the film used to be an actual nursing facility and was located at 430 Health Center Drive, Nags Head, North Carolina. One of the minds behind the film, Tyler Nilson, grew up in Colington, the island where Britthaven was located. He spent much of his youth exploring the Outer Banks and incorporated the setting into the film. This led to many Outer Banks locations, including the Britthaven retirement home, being featured as part of the story. Since Nilson’s school days, Britthaven has been replaced by Peak Resources Outer Banks, which provides nursing and rehabilitation care at the same location as its predecessor.

Britthaven Nursing Home opened in the 1980s and remained the exclusive facility providing nursing care to the residents of Nags Head. The name was later changed to Colony Ridge under Principle Healthcare Systems. In 2010, Dare County Commissioner Virginia Tillett reported that the nursing home was not providing adequate services for its elderly residents, and a stream of complaints was regularly filed with her office. In 2011, the Nags Head Board of Commissioners attempted to retake ownership of the property after Principle failed to adhere to the terms of a deal to keep the facility open.

The city’s then-mayor Bob Oakes said the facility suffered from functional obsolescence, with four residents sharing one bathroom. “There is a need for investment in the facility,” Oakes said in a report. “We had hoped to work with Britthaven to improve the facility while it was still occupied.” The nursing home was scheduled to close in 2011, but an agreement between the city and the operator allowed it to remain in operation.

In 2015, an agreement was reached between Peak Resources-Outer Banks, Principle Healthcare Systems and the City of Nags Head. Peak Resources would take over management of Colony Ridge from Principle in a smooth transition, essentially allowing all employees to keep their jobs. Principle had reportedly fallen short of renovation promises they made in the 2011 deal, and Peak Resources, which operated six nursing and rehabilitation centers in North Carolina at the time, was prepared to take over.

Read more: Where was the Peanut Butter Falcon filmed?