Since their first episode of "Fixer Upper" was filmed in 2013, the Gaines' were catapulted to stardom. We can tell that they are loved by home and gardeners from around the country from the crowds now flocking to Waco. We visited with people from Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, Indiana . . . all of them bubbling with excitement to walk where Chip and Jo once walked. So our first stop of the day was at the Silos.
The Gaines family became famous for making old properties look better than new. They wove their magic again on this eye-sore in the middle of Waco. These rusty silos were slated to be demolished, but they saw the promise in this location.
The open area is designed for families to play corn hole and soccer and enjoy a meal at the food trucks that hang out close by. But on a sunny day with temperatures near 100 degrees, only the toughest customers were running in the sun.
Most of us were making our way to Magnolia Market, looking for the perfect treasure to give our homes the Joanna Gaines touch.
The one person in the flock that lives in a motor home didn't make a purchase, but even she was tempted. Don't expect any bargains, as most of the prices seemed a little excessive. It's hard to tell from the glare of the overhead lighting, but this section of the market was inside a very tall grain barn.
The other popular stop in this area is the Silo Bakery. There was a long line of customers that snaked its way outside in the heat. But we had shade, and a clerk was handing out menu options to speed up the process. An army of bakery-elves were filling orders. We wonder at the large number of people now hired in Waco from this bustling empire.
We tried the cinnamon rolls, cookies, and the orange/cranberry biscuit. Cupcakes are another popular option at the bakery.
The next piece of the empire is the new Magnolia Table restaurant. Because we heard that parking is limited, we took the free trolley that makes the trip between the Magnolia Market and Table every thirty minutes.
We had this stop timed well. Arriving at 10:45 should be after the breakfast crowd and before the lunch crowd, right? Wrong! After standing in line just to get our name on the waiting list, they gave us the news that our table should be available 1 hour and 45 minutes later! What?!?
There is an outdoor waiting area, thankfully shaded. But as the temperature inched closer to 100 degrees, it made for an uncomfortable wait. Denisa's Mother is 88, and the door guards thankfully welcomed her into the air-conditioned waiting area. Denisa has determined that if she and Mark ever make this Magnolia pilgrimage, we will buy some of the pimento cheese and chicken salad sold in tubs at the "take away" entrance. Pairing that with a loaf of bread would save about two hours of time and fifteen dollars according to menu prices.
We got time updates through our smart phone, complete with the number of groups ahead of us in line. After 45 minutes there were still 52 parties in front of us, and their original estimated time turned out to be accurate. People were sitting everywhere outside. We rambled around the property, and found that Chip and Jo Gaines did have a hand in this empire building.
The long wait gave us time to make our food choices. We bought the chicken salad sandwich (served on a croissant), the turkey and avocado sandwich, and Chip's favorite ham and scrambled egg sandwich. The green triangles on the plates below are avocado toast. Chip fought this menu item, until popular opinion convinced him that people would really pay $8 for a slice. We are proof that is true. Couple our sandwich lunch with two pieces of pie for dessert, and this was the most expensive meal of the trip. It's not cheap or fast to eat here.
A two-block walk in the heat took us back to the free trolley, and our car still parked in the silo parking lot. That's when we started our own driving tour of Waco landmarks affiliated with Chip and Joanna Gaines. We have been passing around their autobiography, as it was required reading for this girl trip. From its pages we learned about their first home remodels. We had just enough clues to find these two houses. The little white house on the left was their home when their first child was born. The house on the right was their first build-from-scratch project. It was fun to find them ourselves after reading about them.
We have had a fun adventure in Waco, that would have been more pleasant if the temperatures were in the 70's. But we found that hordes of people will fight through the Waco heat to enjoy all things Magnolia in this relatively new Fixer Upper Empire. The city of Waco has definitely benefited from the economic boom of becoming a new tourist destination. We spent two days in town, so we will be finding what else Waco has to offer in the next blog.
Loved the program. But I doubt I could take the heat and wait. Cooler? Maybe.
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