Fort Worth Stockyards sees customers, foot traffic grow for ‘1883’ TV series filming
With production for the “Yellowstone” prequel series “1883” in full swing this week in North Texas, some Fort Worth Stockyards businesses have seen a noticeable uptick in customers.
Daniela Rodriguez, who works at The General Store on West Exchange Avenue, said customers keep coming in to ask about the show, but there isn’t much the employees are allowed to say.
Business owners near the Fort Worth set had to sign a form about a month ago which prevents employees from talking about details of the show, she said.
Filming for “1883” began Tuesday in Granbury, where hundreds of spectators lined the city’s historic square, and continued Wednesday at Fort Richardson State Park in Jacksboro, according to that city’s Facebook page. Streets in the Stockyards appear ready for more scenes to be shot over the next couple of weeks.
Curious spectators can catch a glimpse of the set, as long as they stay behind the barricades which are guarded by Fort Worth police officers. Rodriguez said she’s heard if anyone crosses the barriers they will be escorted out and she’s seen officers drop off people away from the set.
For The Star Cafe on West Exchange Avenue, manager Leah Carter said Wednesday was a busier day than usual. Typically, the cafe’s busiest season is October through December as well as during school vacation times.
Carter said she hasn’t gotten around to watching “Yellowstone,” but has had plenty of customers come in asking about the filming for the prequel.
During lunch time, she said, some of the crew have come down to the restaurant but she hasn’t seen any of the stars, like Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Sam Elliott.
Currently road closures in Fort Worth, scheduled to continue through Sept. 17, are on North Houston Street from 24th Street to 25th Street, Ellis Avenue from 24th Street to 25th Street, and West Exchange Avenue from Clinton Avenue to Ellis Avenue.
On Sept. 6-8, more closures are expected to happen on West Exchange Avenue. Carter said a green screen is supposed to be put up between The Star Cafe and Pinkie’s, so the road will be closed off from that point westward.
Carter said shops along West Exchange Avenue have been reimbursed for any potential lost business, which was part of the contract they had to sign.
Burleson residents Diana Kleineidam and Bernardo Gomez came out to the Stockyards on Thursday to check out the set. Kleineidam, a devoted fan of “Yellowstone,” wore a Los Angeles Dodgers shirt because both she and Kevin Costner, who stars as patriarch John Dutton in the original “Yellowstone,” are Dodgers fans.
Kleineidam said she’s anxiously gnawing at the bit for ”Yellowstone” season four, which premieres in November. “1883” will air on the network’s streaming platform Paramount+ starting in December.
After seeing a Facebook post about the production happening at the Stockyards, Kleineidam said she and Gomez, her son-in-law, decided to check it out.
The closed off asphalt roadways have been covered in dirt, and lights were removed to give the set an authentic feel. The old buildings on either side of the dirt road make the set practically look like it’s 1883 — with the exception of the occasional car tracks and production lights.
“You don’t think about it, we all live on concrete, but back then they didn’t even do a lot of laundry and in the rain, it’s all mud and dirt,” Kleineidam said. “This brings it to reality.”
Local photographer Austin Miller took pictures during Tuesday’s filming in Granbury. “Today’s filming took place within Farina’s Winery & Cafe Granbury, with their massive and authentic bar,” Miller wrote in a Facebook post. “As extras, in period correct outfits, entered in and out of the historic building, some lucky viewers like myself got to be in the presence of the one and only, Sam Elliott!”
Elliott plays Shea Brennan, “a tough-as-nails, handsome cowboy with immense sadness in his past,” according to a Paramount news release. “He has the herculean task of guiding a group from Texas to Montana, and he does not suffer fools.”
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill portray James and Margaret Dutton, the patriarch and matriarch of the Dutton family, the release said.
“Created by Taylor Sheridan, ‘1883’ follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America,” the release said. “The series is a stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America’s promised land — Montana.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 4:53 PM.
