Reba McEntire Is ‘Cheered On’ by Love Rex Linn at Grand Opening of Reba’s Place Restaurant
The couple had a glam night out at the singer’s Atoka, Oklahoma restaurant opening, but as McEntire told us before the big day: “As long as we’re together, it really doesn’t matter” where they are
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Photo: Courtesy Reba’s Place
Reba McEntire and Rex Linn love a good date night — but doing it at a restaurant named for the country superstar might be a tough one to beat.
The couple (and costars on Big Sky) got glam for the grand opening of Reba’s Place, McEntire’s 15,000-square-foot restaurant, bar and live entertainment venue in Atoka, a small town in her native Oklahoma. Customers on both the first and second floor of the restaurant, built in a former Masonic temple, were able to get a great view of the star as she hit the stage to play some of her hits, including “Fancy” and “Does He Love You” (with a cameo from Chef Kurtess Mortensen) — and fans could watch all the action on a live stream.
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She was joined by friends and family, including Linn, who was in attendance and cheered her on, according to an attendee.
Reba McEntire Opens Reba’s Place Restaurant, Promises Fun and ‘Great Bread’ (Plus a Sweet Tribute to Her Late Mom)
Ahead of the grand opening, McEntire spoke to PEOPLE about her own experience in the kitchen, that while she herself isn’t much of a chef (“I go to restaurants,” she says), Linn “loves to cook,” so the two often decompress by making meals together.
“He sits there and really looks at all menus and puts things together. While he’s doing the meats, whether he’s charcoaling, grilling, or doing his three days of preparation of smoked chicken tacos and all that kind of stuff that he makes, I’m a throw-it-together type person,” she says. “I’ll do that, and he’ll say, ‘Well, caramelized onions will go good with that.’ So he does the onions while I do the garlic and the boiled potatoes. Then I smash them a little bit, and then I fry them with the other stuff. We just have fun in the kitchen.”
Reba McEntire and Rex Linn. ABC/Getty
Reba McEntire and Rex Linn’s Relationship Timeline
The couple, who have been “pretty much inseparable” since they began dating in 2020, are appreciating that downtime at home even more now, after spending months on location in New Mexico filming Big Sky (just one of McEntire’s many recent projects, which include The Hammer, the restaurant, upcoming tour dates and a book in the works).
“When we got home after Big Sky, the next night, I performed in Indianapolis on my last show of the tour for 2022. I came home, and I didn’t leave the house for a week,” she says. “Rex went to the grocery store and everything. I was so fried … that I just stayed home. I cleaned out closets and drawers. It was just reacquainting myself with my house and getting in the kitchen and saying, ‘Where’s the silverware drawer?’ Because you forget, being gone for five months. It was just a really fun time to be home.”
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Rex Linn and Reba McEntire. Rex Linn Instagram
And though the two enjoyed a fun date night out Thursday, complete with all the “Fancy” cocktails and “good bread” McEntire promised you can find at Reba’s Place, the star says they’re just as happy to have a low-key night in.
“When we’re tired, I mean, we’re good with just a sandwich,” she tells PEOPLE. “It really doesn’t matter. As long as we’re together, it really doesn’t matter.
