Reba McEntire’s IRL Experience Running Her Restaurant Helped Her with ‘Happy’s Place’

If there’s anyone who can turn real-life hustle into must-watch TV, it’s Reba McEntire. From running her own restaurant to playing one on screen, the Queen of Country makes life imitate art look effortless, without a single strand of that signature fringe out of place.  

Before stepping into the fictional world of Happy’s Place, McEntire already had hands-on experience running a real restaurant, Reba's Place in Atoka, which opened in 2022. And no, she wasn’t just a name on the sign. She was a very hands-on owner, which came in handy when she stepped onto the set of Happy’s Place.  

McEntire told PEOPLE, “It's helped me bring a practicality to the show, I think. Having that experience lets you know that if you're going to be one thing in the kitchen, you wouldn't be doing another thing somewhere else, just because of the way things work.”  

Season two of Happy’s Place finished airing earlier this year. But fans need not worry since the show was already renewed for season three. “We just have the best time, we've become like a family.” Something her co-star Pablo Castelblanco emphasized in previous interviews. “The fans are thrilled, they love having Melissa [Peterman], and I back together.”  

She added, “But it's not just us. We have the best stand-ins, we have the best background actors, and they're consistent with us; they keep coming back. We're so hungry to get back together for the third season, just to see each other.”