Wheeling restaurant in the spotlight for new Amazon Prime TV series
Production of an upcoming TV series about time-traveling newspaper delivery girls invaded a Wheeling restaurant Monday.
The Rise n Dine restaurant shut down for the day so scenes for the Amazon Prime series "Paper Girls" could be shot inside and outside the one-story building at 102 S. Milwaukee Ave.
The interior set was closed to the public. Outside, trucks for the production occupied the parking lot and nearby Center Avenue.
In the morning, workers covered the large, yellow Rise n Dine pole sign with a green one advertising a fictional cafe. They also folded back the awning over the front door so the real restaurant's name wouldn't show.
Tables and chairs usually set up for outdoor dining were removed, too.
Rise n Dine owner Ivan Arriola called being selected to be part of the production a blessing.
"We've had a rough year and we're happy to get back on track," he said. "This will help us get to the next level."
"Paper Girls" is based on an Image Comics series by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matt Wilson and Jared K. Fletcher. The first issue is available for free online at imagecomics.com/read/paper-girls.
The TV series has been shooting throughout the suburbs. On Friday, crews got footage at the Dam No. 1 Woods forest preserve in Wheeling and at a private home in the village, production crew members said. Crews also have visited Hoffman Estates and other towns.
Arriola learned Rise n Dine was being considered as a setting for the series a few months ago when a location scout took photographs of the eatery. The production team chose the restaurant because of its layout, decor and natural lighting, Arriola said.
The production team has set up a base camp near St. Joseph the Worker Church in Wheeling.
Village Manager Jon Sfondilis called the production's visit "pretty cool."
"Wheeling is delighted to welcome Hollywood into our village and for the opportunity to see the charm of our community represented on a global scale," he said.
Under their agreement with the village, the filmmakers will reimburse Wheeling for water use, employee overtime or other municipal costs that result from the production, Sfondilis said.
The Rise n Dine is scheduled to be closed Tuesday and Wednesday to accommodate the shoot. Driving scenes in the Wheeling area are planned for Tuesday, a crew member said.
The cast of "Paper Girls" will include Ali Wong, Nate Corddry, Adina Porter and Marika Engelhardt, according to imdb.com.
It's the latest Amazon Prime production to hit the suburbs.
"Lightyears," an upcoming science fiction series starring J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek, shot in Wauconda, Island Lake and elsewhere earlier this month.