Deep in the Heart of Texas

Waco is located in central Texas along the Brazos river. Over the last few years, Waco has became well known as the home of Chip and Joanna Gaines from HGTV’s Fixer Upper.

We took an 8 day Texas Roadtrip from Oct 25th – Nov 2nd, and Waco was our first stop. We only spent about 2 hours in town, but could have easily spent more.

Our first stop was Magnolia Market at the Silos, established in 2015. Most everyone in America knows of or has seen the show “Fixer Upper” by now, so you know this is the storefront of the Gaines’ from HGTV.

The silos at Magnolia Market were built in 1950 as part of the Brazos Valley Cotton Oil Company. In 2014, the Gaines’ purchased the mill to restore and re-purpose the historic site. Today, these silos stand tall in downtown Waco, reminding the city of it’s cotton farming history.

There is lots to do at Magnolia, from shopping to eating to just simply hanging out. There is a bakery, that had a line wrapped around the corner. I heard that the line moves quickly, I just wasn’t in the mood for a pastry when we were there. They also have a restaurant, Magnolia Table, which you cannot make reservations for and is first come first serve. After doing my research I realized there would be no way we’d be able to eat there arriving so late in the day, I hear the wait time is typically 1-3 hours.

Out in the middle of the property, there is a large area of turf for kiddos to play and people to hangout. There was a nice homey ambiance to the place, kids laughing and everyone seeming to be having a good time.

They have a separate building for their Magnolia Seed + Supply, which has all things garden from pots, tools, spices, and such. Out in front of the building is a nice walk through garden with various flowers and plants.

In the largest building is the Magnolia Market, full of everything home related. This huge warehouse boasts farmhouse decor galore. Everything inside was beautiful, but also just a bit more than I wanted to pay for some things, so we grabbed an ornament to commemorate our trip and called it good.

Outside, the edge of the property is lined with food trucks. We had skipped lunch due to driving so we were starving and decided to try one out. Since it was so close to closing, a lot of them had already closed for the day, but we settled on “Little Brisket”, owned by Guess Family BBQ. John had the brisket melt, which was heavenly, that was basically a texas toast grilled cheese with brisket inside. I tried the brisket tacos, and they were pretty amazing as well.

There’s lots of good photo ops around the property, and of course I had to take advantage of that.

Overall, my take on Magnolia Market is that while yes it was nice to visit, I would not make a special trip to see it. Then again, I’m also not as obsessed with Fixer Upper or the Gaines’ as much as some people may be. There isn’t enough to do here, in my opinion, to spend an entire day but if you’re passing through it’s worth a stop.

After leaving Magnolia Market, we walked around the area and enjoyed the nice weather while stretching our legs. I had a chance to see a few Waco murals, and y’all know I’m always excited to be able to find them.