“Sure. Let’s go see what this place looks like. I saw it on HGTV. But I’m telling you: I’m not buying anything. Watching my weight, you know.”
Well, you can guess how that turned out. It was our first day in downtown Waco, Texas, at the Magnolia complex.
And now, since Discovery+ network has just become available for streaming, we thought this would be a good time to show you a few great places in that little city made famous by Chip and Joanna Gaines. (New series of Magnolia Table aired January 4, 2021.)
First things first: Silos Baking Company.
The dream of owning a bakery stemmed completely from Joanna’s love of baking and cooking. From a young age, Joanna delighted in spending time with her family in the kitchen. There, she learned the trade secrets to her homemade chocolate cake, Syrian donuts, chocolate chip cookies, pies and more.
History: Silos Baking Company
We thought we wouldn’t be buying anything to eat — we were just looking at the properties — on this hot, hot day in Texas. Even with the heat, though, flower boxes were beautifully planted and maintained — with pansies, no less, that usually wilt in the summer.
Inside, it was just as we expected. With that impeccable good-taste style Joanna Gaines brings to every place she touches, the bakery sports white subway tiles, black cabinetry and treasured herringbone floors that workmen set in place on the show “Fixer Upper.”
Rounding out the look in Silos Baking Company are antiques and one-of-a-kind pieces gleaned from Joanna’s jaunts about town searching for special items to display and some of the original brick walls.
Neatly stocked cabinets hold mugs, cookie decorating kits, and Joanna’s cookbook, Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering, for sale.
And workers smiled even though they were so busy they hardly had time to breathe let alone take pictures of tourists from Tennessee — but they did anyway.
After standing in line still affirming that we wouldn’t be purchasing anything, we came, we saw, and we succumbed — by ordering two signature Silo Cookies (oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with peanut blueberry muffin crumbles), two Nuts & Bolts (vanilla cupcakes filled with pecans and walnuts, topped with cream cheese icing and nut crumble) and two Prize Pigs — Joanne’s signature buttery biscuits filled with bacon, cheddar and chives. You can guess whether we ate them on the spot or saved them for next day’s breakfast. I’m not telling.
We had gone in expecting a tastefully decorated building (check!) but we came out with oh, so much more, especially when you consider service was impeccable and friendly!
Stay tuned. Silos Baking Company was only our first stop. There’s more Waco to come!
Travel full,
Rusha & Bert