San Antonio is a city frequented by celebrities, and sightings often happen near the Pearl or at downtown’s many iconic tourist spots. But one homegrown star tends to show up in other places, such as helping out at the local food bank, and more recently, stopping by a popular Southside seafood restaurant.

Actress Paulina Chávez, who plays Ariana Medina on Taylor Sheridan’s wildly popular Landman TV series, was spotted at El Cevichero Restaurant y Cantina, according to a photo the restaurant posted on Instagram on Friday, February 21. In the caption, the seafood joint off SE Military Drive wrote, “Thank you to our friend @paulinafchavez from @landmanpplus for stopping by and always supporting El Cevichero! Thank you!”

In a message exchange on Instagram, owner Abel Mota told MySA, “Paulina is incredibly humble and super nice.”

“She’s actually been one of our regulars for about a year now,” Mota said via direct message. “The first time I met her, she stopped by for a to-go order. When I handed her the ceviche, I told her, ‘You look exactly like that actress from Landman, you should look her up.’ She smiled and said, ‘[Yeah] it’s me, Ariana from Landman.’ I thought she was just joking at first but it definitely was her.”

Continuing, Mota wrote, “Since then, she’s continued to support us, and we always appreciate her stopping by our restaurant.”

A native Texan, Chávez was born in El Paso. However, she was raised in the Alamo City, starting at the age of 6, attending Sky Harbor Elementary School on the Southside. She brings her roots to much of her work, Landman included. In one infamous scene, Ariana – the romantic interest of Cooper Norris, the son of Billy Bob Thornton’s oil tycoon Tommy Norris – calls San Antonio “the most magical city in the world” and compares the River Walk to “some place in Italy.”

Landman, though set primarily in West Texas, typically films in locations like Fort Worth, Springtown and the Midland-Odessa area. Showrunner and creator Taylor Sheridan is no stranger to filming in San Antonio either, as his Yellowstone prequel, 1923, filmed downtown in 2024, as well as in Lockhart and Austin.

So, you never know when you come across a Taylor Sheridan set – and maybe one of these days Chávez could be spotted in character, bringing the big screen to her hometown.

Find it: 2603 SE Military Drive, Suite 106, San Antonio, TX 78223

This article originally published at ‘Landman’ star Paulina Chávez honors San Antonio roots, supports local eatery.