Taylor Sheridan acquires historic Isis Theater in Fort Worth Stockyards
Taylor Sheridan’s investment company purchased the Downtown Cowtown at the Isis with plans to renovate the historic Stockyards venue “back to its glory,” his business partner, David Glasser, told the Fort Worth Report.
SGS Supper Club — owned by Sheridan, Glasser and Dan Schryer — will soon transform the theater into a 1920s-inspired Texas supper club, a concept that typically combines dinner and a show. Their company purchased the theater in December 2025, according to Tarrant County Appraisal District records.
Construction on the theater project will commence soon, Glasser said, but an opening date has not been determined as owners are in the midst of completing the design phase.
The goal is to “preserve and restore” the beauty of the Stockyards and keep the Isis Theater’s exterior consistent with what it’s been for years, he added.
“We’re not rushing any of the projects that we have,” he said. “Our goal is to get it right and to make sure everybody’s happy with it.”
Located at 2401 N. Main St., the theater closed in 2023 due to $5.3 million in loan defaults and delinquent taxes under previous management.
The acquisition is the latest step in Sheridan’s Stockyards footprint. The filmmaker behind the high-profile television series “Landman,” “Lioness,” and the upcoming “Frisco King” purchased the nearby Cattlemen’s Steakhouse in summer 2025.
SGS was drawn to the Isis Theater after successfully transforming Cattlemen’s into a hot spot for locals and tourists through its dual restaurant and members-only club, Glasser said.
Paul Paine, Fort Worth Stockyards Inc. president and CEO, said he’s excited about the Isis Theater being reopened and views the upcoming project as “very positive” for the historic district. The nonprofit represents the Stockyards’ properties and businesses.
Mayor Mattie Parker said Fort Worth is fortunate to have dozens of developers and investors working on transformative projects across the Stockyards. This latest project from SGS is “especially exciting,” she said.
“The Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater has a long, rich history in our city, and it’s an incredibly nostalgic place for many of our residents and visitors,” Parker said in a statement.
A turbulent history
The Isis Theater was built in 1913 in a style that showcased Victorian grandeur. It was one of the city’s first venues dedicated to screening movies, according to Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives.
When a large fire destroyed the building in 1935, it was reconstructed in an art deco style and reopened as the New Isis Theater a year later.
The 1942 Marine Creek flood brought heavy mud and water damage to the Stockyards, prompting extensive repairs at the theater again.
Throughout its early opening and closings, businessman Leonard Clark Tidball owned the theater for more than 50 years until his death in 1966, according to the Star-Telegram. Entrepreneur Harold Griffith purchased the property in 1970.
In 1974, a group of Northside children picketed outside the theater to protest showings of what they called “all those R-rated films,” demanding more family-friendly films. The property closed its doors in 1988.
In November 1995, the Isis Theater sustained minor smoke damage after neighboring business Sullivan’s was destroyed by a five-alarm fire.
The property switched hands at least three times from 2005 to 2014 with each new owner presenting different — and ultimately unrealized — visions for the building, according to Star-Telegram archives.
In 2021, the historic theater reopened as the Downtown Cowtown at the Isis after four years of renovations under husband-and-wife team Jeffrey Smith and Debbie Garrett-Smith.
“It hurt my heart to see it was just sitting there and nobody was taking care of it,” Jeffrey Smith said in May of that year. “It needed to be loved. It needed to be nurtured. It needed to be brought back for people to see this building.”
The theater then closed its doors in late November 2023 with little explanation. The Fort Worth Report later acquired records about the property’s financial troubles.
Richard J. Roth, manager for the property’s most recent owner Northside Historic Theater LLC, wished the new owners the best and said he is glad to see the building back in business.
The Isis Theater’s new life will serve as a major draw on the North Main Street corridor, said John Roberts, a historic preservation advocate and founder of the Architecture Fort Worth website.
“I’m all for getting uses to these historic buildings,” Roberts said. “I hope they can maintain the existing theater space more or less as it is.”
When asked about whether the 500 seats in the theater will be removed, Glasser didn’t elaborate on the design but emphasized the goal is to transform the property into something “you would have seen back in that era.”
“When we’re done, it will be something pretty special,” he said.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org.
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