Business owners on Broadway say they are both hopeful and hesitant for “1923” to begin production downtown starting Sept. 16.
SAN ANTONIO — It’s one of the most wildly popular streamed series and now a prequel to it will be set right here in San Antonio.
Starting Monday, the production of Paramount+ original series, “1923” will shoot one episode on Broadway.
Though that may sound exciting, that means major road closures in the area for days on top of existing construction.
In the long run, a lot businesses say this will drive in tourism with fans wanting to see where the series was shot, but in the short term– they’re worried about a decrease in revenue.
“We are hopeful that people will still come to see us.. They might be excited about the production,” Alex Sledge with Paris Hatters said.
Hopeful but hesitant, Sledge said she’s seen the impact of the show.
“The Yellowstone franchise has brought a great focus on hats,” she added.
But now, with the show’s prequel filming outside their front door, they’re worried about taking a hit in sales.
Sledge said they’ve been working with the show’s production company to try and mitigate that loss. She shared with us what a construction closure did to business last year.
“The sidewalks were open then as well… So we can illustrate the drop in foot traffic from that,” she said.
Across the street at Archies Fine Coffee, Paulino Diaz said they’re counting on those long production days.
“We’re hoping to be a hang out for cast and crew if they don’t have their own thing going on,” Diaz said.
Diaz added that if they can be a catalyst of energy for them to get shooting done they’d be honored.
We reached out to the San Antonio Film Commission who said this can cultivate film tourism, leading to increased revenue. What that revenue will be is unknown right now.
So it’s a “wait and see” for all businesses and the city.
“It’s just kind of trying to estimate these are the numbers from last year,” Sledge said.
“We’re excited about them possibly coming by and the traction afterwards,” Diaz said.
We reached out to the show’s production company about the impact on these businesses and are waiting to hear back.