The 109-year-old hat store on Broadway in the middle of downtown San Antonio has been getting surprise celebrity visits for decades, and another one is likely to make its wall of photos. Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan stopped by the store while the band was in town to play at the Alamodome alongside Pierce the Veil. The concert took place on Wednesday, September 16 — and while it’s unclear how many were in attendance, the Alamodome itself has seen more than 130,000 visitors in September thanks to concerts from Karol G, My Chemical Romance and the “Sweet Child O’ Mine” band, as well as the UT San Antonio football home opener.
On Instagram, the shop wrote, “It was an honor to have Duff McKagan, bassist for Guns N Roses, at the Paris! Truly an iconic rock band and members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” Store manager store manager Alex Cortez Sledge told MySA in a direct message that McKagan visited on Monday, September 14. He bought a 10X Stetson straw cowboy hat, “and he was really nice!”
Paris Hatters has seen some activity in recent months. In March, Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant came by for a Stetson Open Road straw hat while headlining the Majestic Theatre with his current band, Saving Grace. Breaking Bad actor Giancarlo Esposito also headed to Paris Hatters while he was in town for SpaceCon back in June, telling the owners that he’d always wanted to come by. In previous decades, the store has also been visited by the likes of Johnny Cash and wife June Carter Cash, Merle Haggard, B.B. King, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and many others.
Find it: 119 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78205