There’s no stopping the expansion of the Sheridanverse, the sprawl of interconnected dramas about the American heartland created by actor-writer-director Taylor Sheridan. Having exploded into existence with Yellowstone, and grown to include 1883, 1923 and other generation-spanning spinoffs, the Sheridanverse has — perhaps inevitably — reached the realm of Las Vegas fine dining with the opening of the new Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse, at the Wynn. Just days after the limited-time pop-up opened its books, thousands of reservations and dozens of buy-out requests came flooding in.
“We have seen incredible demand even before the doors open on September 16,” says Brian Gullbrants, COO of Wynn Resorts North America.
Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse will take over the space occupied by Wynn’s breakfast and brunch restaurant, Tableau, every evening after Tableau closes for the day. The menu, built around beef sourced from Sheridan’s 6666 Ranch in Guthrie, Texas — which he, along with a group of investors, purchased in 2022 for a reported $320 million — features recipes and ingredients inspired by Sheridan’s TV empire. The 266,000-acre Texas ranch, depicted in Yellowstone‘s seasons four and five (set to return for the series’ final episodes in November) and the location for the in-development 6666 (but currently on hold), had been in the hands of just one family since it was founded in 1870.
Ahead of the Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse’s public debut, a star-studded reveal on Saturday night brought out a herd of celebrities, many of them from Sheridan’s shows: Harrison Ford, Brandon Sklenar, Emerson Miller, Demi Moore, Rumer and Scout LaRue Willis, Jeremy Renner, Ben Foster, Andy Garcia and daughter Alessandra, and Training Day director Antoine Fuqua all attended.
The new culinary venture isn’t Wynn and Sheridan’s first rodeo. The Las Vegas resort has become a stage for many of the multihyphenate’s ventures. In 2021, Wynn struck a deal with David Glasser’s 101 Studios, the producers of Sheridan’s Yellowstone, Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown and the upcoming Landman, to create a series of Hollywood-centric experiences. The partnership kicked off with Wynn hosting the premieres for 1883 and then 1923 and acting as the home for the official Yellowstone podcast.
Sheridan’s content has sparked interest in the ranching lifestyle, and he is adept at stocking his fans with products to satisfy their cowboy desires. There are 6666 branded sauces, seasonings, grills, clothes, jewelry, and more. Now, fans can visit a steakhouse and try the meat directly from his ranch in the ultimate free-wheeling frontier town, Las Vegas.
“Operating restaurants that serve beef raised off my ranch has been a goal of mine from the beginning — I dreamed of doing this long before I dreamed of being an actor or storyteller,” Sheridan tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The menu is curated from the actual dishes off the chuck wagon at 6666 Ranch.”
“Initially, our SW Steakhouse [at the Wynn] was one of a handful of restaurants in the country that featured their beef. We realized quickly that the legacy of 6666 Ranch and its steaks would translate to a pop-up restaurant,” Gullbrants says. “It has been great getting to know Taylor over the years. Not only is he a compelling storyteller, but it’s also clear that he has a genuine passion for this new concept. He has been hands-on with everything from the [restaurant] design to the menu.”
Transforming the space daily from Tableau, a daytime restaurant, into the Four Sixes Ranch outpost takes about two hours and uses touches of film-production magic. Key sets assist the staff in smoothly setting the scene. New drapes and black-and-white photographs of cowboys decorate the room. Every evening, the chairs receive slipcovers. Saddles and a proscenium arch bearing Texas-themed ephemera get wheeled in. Custom table settings, serving plates and tableside carts complete the look.
Executive Chef David Middleton worked alongside Christopher Lee, Wynn’s VP of culinary operations and restaurant development, to create the Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse menu, with Sheridan and Glasser weighing in on every dish.
“Taylor does have a cooking background,” Middleton says. “As a young, up-and-coming actor, he worked in restaurants in New York City. He [shared] his expectations and some of his signature ingredients or recipes for certain dishes given to us, and we worked through them.”
Six 6666 Ranch steaks headline the offerings, ranging from a 9-ounce filet mignon to a 40-ounce “The Ranch Boss Cut” Porterhouse. While most steakhouses showcase 10 to 12 cuts, Four Sixes, as a pop-up, offers a more curtailed selection with some unique touches.
“Taylor’s Cut — the inside skirt steak — is [a cut] many people don’t know about. It’s a relatively thin piece of meat, but that’s his favorite because of the full flavor,” Middleton says.
Sheridan is particular about how the steaks are cooked, ensuring Texas-authentic preparations. “If you’re cooking outside, [the steaks] have to be cooked over wood with salt and pepper. If you cook inside, you must use a cast iron pan. Those are the only two requisites. Texas cuisine is sometimes about doing things super straightforward,” Middleton says.
The star of this show is the $999.90 (6666 upside down) 48-ounce Japanese Purebred Freedom Wagyu Tomahawk from Grazing Star Ranch, which neighbors Sheridan’s Wyoming property. “The cattle feed on the natural hay from the pastures where they’re raised—not corn or grain-fed. It’s all-natural. The beef is 100-percent purebred wagyu,” the chef shares.
Aside from the beef, other menu items get the bigger-is-better Texas treatment. The opulent caviar tower has a surprising assortment of finger foods such as potato tots, kettle chips, deviled quail eggs, brioche toast and country-fried chicken tenders. The Texas Twinkie is not a Twinkie but a gutted Hatch chile stuffed with cheddar, cream cheese, and 12-hour smoked brisket, wrapped in bacon, slathered in barbecue sauce, and dripping with hot honey.
The Cowboy Caviar salad is a vegan dish featuring black-eyed peas, avocado, tomato and a charred scallion vinaigrette to give it the essence of Texas. Instead of bacon, the classic wedge gets smoked brisket burnt ends cooked in the 6666 barbecue sauce.
Sheridan’s recipe for chimichurri finds its way onto many dishes as a condiment. “The chimichurri has Serrano peppers and a kick, keeping in the tradition of Texas cuisine with those big, bold flavors that are punchy in the mouth. “There is a secret ingredient in there,” says Middleton, who refuses to reveal it. “Ask Taylor,” he says.
Another request came directly from Sheridan. “Buttermilk pie on the ranch is a real delicacy and has fostered some pretty unique methods of ‘preserving pie for yourself.’ 6666 General Manager Joe Leathers is a notorious pie thief, and I have been forced to go to great lengths to hide pies from him. I now lock them in the safe,” jokes Sheridan.
The simple dessert of eggs, sugar, and buttermilk has the texture of a cheesecake and a graham cracker crust. It is brûléed at Sheridan’s request and served with whipped vanilla chantilly.
The cocktails, created by Wynn’s Master Mixologist Mariena Mercer Boarini, even feature Sheridan’s seasonings. The Wide Open Spaces, a play on a “Ranch Water” cocktail made with tequila, lime and housemade watermelon soda, comes in a glass coated with cilantro-spiced “Cowboy” salt. The blackened ribeye also uses 6666 Original Cowboy Spice Blend.
The pop-up is set to continue until early 2025, and Sheridan is optimistic about future possibilities.
“The hope is this becomes a permanent staple at Wynn,” Sheridan says.
