Monday, October 29. Its Magnolia day. Hooray!
It arrived a year late but based on the sparkle in Lori’s eyes it was well worth the wait. Last year we were going to make a stop in Waco to take in the Fixer Upper empire that is Magnolia Table, Market, etc. Then a tumble while walking Charli resulted in a broken arm and a delayed departure. Waco had to be deferred. The day was pretty much perfect and outside of an appearance by Chip and Joanna I don’t think it could have been better.
We left our campground before 9:00 to get in the notorious lineup for breakfast at Magnolia Table. We arrived and after getting in a short line we were checked-in and told it would be about a 45 minute wait. During this whole process, both at Magnolia Table and later at Magnolia Market I was very impressed with the organization and level of staffing which kept everybody moving along. Everybody was very friendly and helpful. We heard that the Magnolia group of companies employs 800 people. Not too bad for a couple that started out with a little HGTV home reno show.
When we checked in we provide a phone number and immediately received a text advising that we were registered and would receive a text when our table was ready. During the wait we could cool our heals at the outdoor coffee bar or visit the gift shop. To the gift shop we went. We discovered later when we were sitting at our table that in addition to the menu for the food there was a separate order form for the gift shop. Items could have been selected for delivery to our table and paid for at the same time as our breakfast. So easy to spend ones money.
Within 30 minutes we received our text and went into the restaurant and were shown to our table. Within a few minutes Brandon, our waiter, showed up to provide coffee, I had the Texas Pecan coffee which was very good. He was very friendly and despite the fact that the place was packed we were never left waiting for a refill on our coffee and our order was taken and delivered promptly. He even stopped by a few times just to chat and answer our questions about the Magnolia operation. He received a nice tip.
The food was excellent. I had french toast with Strawberry butter and syrup with bacon, 2 eggs and the neatest hash browns ever. They looked like small ice cream scoops which were fried on the outside. Very tasty. Lori and Jan pocketed the clean napkins (paper not cloth) and asked for fresh napkins from Brandon. I'm sure Brandon has had this request before. I think Lori walked out with 3 clean napkins with Magnolia Farms written on them and I’m sure they will appear on our table at home as part of a centre piece.
We left Magnolia Table totally stuffed and $40. poorer. Pricey for breakfast but totally worth it.
Off to Magnolia Market at the Silo’s. When Chip and Joanna bought this place it was basically a city block with 2 huge old rusting metal grain silo’s and an old brick building. The rusting silo’s remain however the old brick building is now a thriving retail operation selling everything Magnolia. There is a kind of centre courtyard with artificial turf which is populated with kids of all ages playing and lounging about on bean bag chairs. There are picnic tables and the courtyard is ringed by food trucks of all sorts.
The Market itself is quite large and filled with people from everywhere picking up their little momento of their visit to Chip and Joanna’s empire. Again everything flowed like clockwork, staff everywhere offering to help, security guards strategically placed and adequate restrooms that were spotless (they clean them every 30 minutes). Perhaps they hired someone from Disney cause it had that kind of feel to it.
I headed off to snap pics while Lori and Jan eventually came outside with large bags under their arms and hugh smiles on their faces. All that was left to see was the bake shop and get some of their famous cupcakes. A long lineup greeted us but one of the staff was outside with menu’s for us to peruse and check off our orders. Once inside the menu was handed in, paid for and just a short wait for our order to be fulfilled.
As we sat at one of the picnic tables consuming our Iced Tea and Cupcakes I watched all the people moving about and again marvelled at how seamlessly thousands of people moved about.
It was still too early to head home so off we went to Harp Design which is the company that designs and constructs the custom woodwork for Joanna’s interior creations. This is a much smaller operation however they had some very nice creations and Lori ended up with 2 small candle holders designated for our mantle at home.
We were pretty much bushed by this time so it was back to the RV Park for some R&R. Tomorrow is another day with more activities and quite possibly more purchases on the agenda. Lori says she’s done buying but she wouldn’t put in writing.
Pictures will follow at some point when a better wifi connection is available.
