SLIDELL — You’ve heard of Christmas in July, but in Slidell, it’s Christmas in March. A Netflix production crew has taken over Olde Towne Slidell, and turned it into the Town of Saint Opal.
“About two months ago, we met with this production company, and they said they were interested in filming a movie in Olde Towne” Slidell Mayor Randy Fandal told UWK. “But it wasn’t your normal, come in and film in one spot for a couple hours and move out. They said ‘We want to come over and pretty much take over Olde Towne Slidell for about two weeks.'”
Netflix transformed Olde Towne Slidell staples into Saint Opal shops and restaurants. “They’ve come in and put different fronts on each one of the buildings in Slidell,” the mayor explained. “Bob’s Magnolia Mart right here, that’s The Brass Monkey that they changed into a grocery mart. They changed another building into a hardware store. You got the Olde Towne soda shop across the street, that’s now a baker’s bakery. So they’ve come in and put different fronts on each one of the older buildings in Slidell.”
Economic boost
Mayor Fandal said the movie shoot has brought more people to Slidell. “For last week, people have been coming in the evenings just just to watch and see what’s going on. And when they come in, they they become clients of all our restaurants here and everything else. So economically, it’s great for the area. The production company itself, they’ve come in, they’ve put people in our hotels.”
The chef and owner of Slidell’s Crave 985, Chad Roig, said he’s seen an impact at his restaurant. “I’ve seen lots of new faces, a lot more foot traffic,” Roig said. “People are coming to the area, they want to know what’s going on.”
Hollywood South returns
“It brings attention for a production company of this size to come in and notice what Slidell has to offer,” Mayor Fandal said. “I hope other production companies see it and they come in here, too.”
“It’s been pretty cool just to have a front row view of it, with all the different actors and actresses, being on the streets, and everybody’s been really friendly,” Roig said.
“Slidell is growing. Olde Towne is hopping. We ready for anybody that wants to come in and film. We’ll welcome you right here,” the mayor said. “It looks like Hollywood South is back to me. And if we can help them and give them some place to film, come on in.”
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
Support UWK and its mission to deliver The News You Deserve. Unfiltered. Become a monthly patron on Patreon today!
