Gaines World Waco, Texas

 

Diane and I were enjoying a visit by Jean, a long-time friend of Diane’s. Jean resides in Rhode Island and spent some time with us during the hottest Summer in North Texas (or anywhere for that matter). Jean, apparently, is a big Joanna and Chip Gaines fan and one of the things on her bucket list (and Diane’s) was to visit Gaines World (sorry, Magnolia Farms) in Waco, Texas

I was a viewer for many of the early years until…Shiplap happened. Suddenly all Joanna’s projects “had” to include that flagitious white planking on at least one wall or along with a headboard or two. Sorry…I had to draw the line there. I could sometimes sense the new owners on reveal day looking at their newly remodeled and flipped home wondering how that entered into the design. I understand the designers desire to “leave their mark” on a room or home but my first question on camera might have been, “Ah…..can we take that down after the show’s over?”

But you have to hand it to them, they took a formula house flipping show and built a brand that blossomed to include their own television network, books, magazines and a killer merchandizing program that is generating lots of revenue.

So, we decided to make the two hour drive down the I-35 to visit Nirvana. The ride was typical Central Texas (well…most of Texas) in that it’s flat as a board and most times on the Interstates, you can see where you’ll be in an hour or so.

Making the trek down I-35 is not complete unless you make a stop in West, Texas. About halfway between Dallas and Waco, it is Kolache Center (a delicious Czech fruit filled pastry) for most Texans. West was originally settled by Czechoslovakian immigrants who grew cotton, wheat, grain sorghum, and raised cattle. You may have heard of the huge fertilizer explosion in 2013. A fire set off the entire supply of Ammonium Nitrate (think Oklahoma Bombing) at West Fertilizer and killed 15 (mostly first responders trying to put out the fire) and injured 200. West has been recognized as the “Czech Heritage Capital of Texas” and “home of the official Kolache of the Texas Legislature”. We made a stop at Slovacek’s at exit 353. There Jean and Diane made an initial reconnaissance (and restroom break) for future pastry and trinket purchases on the way home. We then proceeded into Waco.

Waco (named after the Native American tribe who lived there) is a medium size city of around 140,000 and is the County Seat of McLennan County. It is better known as the home of Baylor University (Go Bears), the Texas Ranger Museum, the Dr. Pepper Museum and the home of one of the best preserved Columbian Mammoth sites in the world. In 1978, bones were discovered emerging from the mud at the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque Rivers. Excavations revealed the remains of at least 24 Mammoths, one camel, and one large cat were found, making it one of the largest findings of its kind. And you can’t forget David Koresh and the Waco standoff outside of town and the home to the White House Press Center near George W. Bush’s Ranch in nearby Crawford, Texas. So, Waco was already a house-hold name when Jo and Chip showed up on the scene.

Now about Magnolia Market (or as I refer to it the “Holy Land”). Cotton was, and still is, a big deal in Texas. Early settlers of Texas in the mid-nineteenth century, grew, ginned, and shipped cotton not only throughout Texas, but also to Europe, South America, and India. Cottonseed was second only to lumber as the most important cash crop in Texas (prior to oil being discovered). Not only did they ship raw cotton to the milliners of the world, mills sprang up all over the state as Texas established itself as the leading processor of cottonseed in the nation, and one of the largest suppliers of cooking oil, shortening, margarine, and salad oil—byproducts of cottonseed oil. Waco reigned in the South as the “King of Cotton” until the onset of the Great Depression.

In Waco, in 1910, J. T. Davis established Brazos Valley Cotton Oil, Inc. The main operations of the company took place at a mill located on the block between Webster Avenue and Jackson Avenue in the heart of Waco’s business district where Magnolia Market now resides.

By purchasing thousands of tons of cottonseed annually from farmers, and employing up to 75 men, workers then extracted oil from the cottonseed to be used for both cooking and industrial purposes. After the mill processed the seed, the oil was shipped all over the world. Whatever was left over, in order to prevent unnecessary waste, the mill sold unused meal as cattle feed. The Great Depression marked the decline of Waco’s cotton industry, but business at the cotton oil mill continued for many years.

In 1950, workers completed construction on the two 120-foot-tall silos which today are Magnolia Market’s most notable landmarks. Between 1957 and the late 1980s, the plant changed hands several times but was no longer active and was finally vacant by the 1990s.

In 2014, local residents and now famous house-flippers Joanna and Chip Gaines purchased the property with the intention of building their brand and resurrecting the historic property.

They opened their anchor store, Magnolia Market, and have added additions such as a retail showroom (Magnolia Home), a monthly antique and craft market, a Whiffle Ball playing field, Magnolia Press Coffee (I’m sensing a theme here) and a food truck court. They are also working to retain the historic integrity of the site through efforts such as the preservation of the original silos. After years of disuse, the reimagined mill and now Market remains the centerpiece of the city’s economic redevelopment.

We got our bearings and made a beeline for the Magnolia Table, a restaurant inside the historic (flipped and remodeled) Elite Café opened in 1919. The menu was simple and had all your standard Breakfast and Brunch fare. The food was well-made and there was a lot of it. I had the Avocado Toast with scrambled egg.

Diane and Jean each had the Farm Breakfast. Jean got sausage and Diane got the bacon. They also included these little handmade tater tot potatoes. Food was good, service not so great. Our server didn’t recall Jean had asked for Decaf and he dropped the ball on waters and coffee refills.

We then made our way to Magnolia Market, a short distance away. There, all things Joanna and Chip reside. There are T-shirts, hoodies, hats, antiques and bric-a-brac galore for the discriminate home decorator in us all (well, some of us anyway). There is a cornucopia of other things Joanna and Chip on the surrounding property. Like Disneyland, there’s a treat (literally) around every corner. Food trucks litter the back lot as well as other vendors hawking their sweets and drinks. There’s a large park-like area with places to sit and imbibe in their branded food and coffee drinks, and an outside production studio kitchen area from which they conduct their cooking competitions. For a walk-thru of the back lot, click HERE.

Of course, the ladies came out with several purchases including a walk-through of Joanna’s Silos Baking Company. Like Disneyland, customers had to wait in a cue outside and a gatekeeper handed out price lists of the items inside then allowed you through the door, one at a time, so you didn’t waste valuable Magnolia Time pacing around the shop. It’s important to note that most of the people I saw on the grounds were women. Oh sure, there was the occasional husband/boyfriend but mostly it was individuals and packs of women taking group selfies and rummaging through the place. They certainly had found their demographic for sure.

And why, you ask, did they name their company “Magnolia?” Well, Chip explained to People.com,“You know what’s interesting about a Magnolia tree?” he asked his kids after they plant one together. "On one of our first dates, I climbed up a Magnolia tree and I pulled her off a Magnolia bloom and I gave it to her.” (Can you hear the collective “Awwwwwwww…from the romantics out there?) Folks, you can’t make this stuff up. Oh yeah, it’s probably important to mention both Joanna and Chip are both graduates of Baylor University, she has a degree in Communications and he in Business. These aren’t just two house flippers, folks. We’re talking bonafide entrepreneurs who took home remodeling to a new level and created an empire.

Silos Baking Company

The ladies had gotten their Jo Jo fix (I’m calling her that now that we’re friends and have a new-found respect for one another). They were all shopped out and ready to leave but not before a return stop at Slovacek’s to pick up stuff they didn’t get the first time then the long and winding road back through Fort Worth and Dallas traffic back to our homestead in Aubrey.