Hooper’s

Hooper’s is a restaurant in Kingsland, Texas, located inside the original Sawyer family house from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The house was originally located near Round Rock, where it was used during the filming of the 1974 horror classic. In 1998, after the area around the original site had changed, the house was cut into sections, moved to Kingsland and restored on the grounds of The Antlers Hotel. For many years it operated as Grand Central Café, before being renamed Hooper’s in honour of Tobe Hooper, the director and co-writer of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Today the building functions as a restaurant, while still preserving its connection to one of the most famous houses in horror cinema.

Hooper’s appears in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), where the building is used as the Sawyer family house. The film was not shot at the house’s current Kingsland location, but the building itself is the same house. In the film, the house originally stood near Round Rock, north of Austin, before being moved decades later. The house is the central location of the film’s horror, used for the scenes where Leatherface and his family trap, kill and terrorise the group of young travellers.

In The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Hooper’s appears as the Sawyer family house. Kirk and Pam first come across the house while looking for gasoline, and Kirk enters through the front door after hearing a generator. Inside, he is suddenly attacked by Leatherface, dragged through the doorway and pulled deeper into the house. Pam later enters and discovers the disturbing interior before she is also captured. The house becomes the main setting for the film’s nightmare, including the scenes with Leatherface, the family dinner and Sally’s attempt to survive the night. Although the house now stands in Kingsland and operates as a restaurant, the rooms, porch and exterior remain directly connected to the film’s most important location.

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