Mark and I both love Fixer Upper! Mark basically thinks that he is Chip Gaines, while I’m a basic b*tch that is a sucker for shiplapped walls and a pasta faucet. But, since we would only be in Austin for about 4 days, I was mostly kidding when I suggested driving to check out Magnolia Market and the Silos in Waco. You all know how much I love a good day trip, but when you’re only going away for a long weekend it can be a pretty tough decision on whether or not it’s worth sacrificing one of your already limited days in your home base to explore somewhere totally different. Visiting the Silos in Waco has been on my bucket list for years, specifically to attend Spring at the Silos, but I didn’t think I would be crossing this item off my bucket list with this particular trip.
Well, suffice it to say that Mark never ceases to surprise me. When I half jokingly brought up making the 90 minute drive from Austin to Waco, he was instantly 100% on board. We decided to spend our first full day in Texas there and it was definitely worth it!
While I loved everything about it, there were definitely quite a few things I wish I had known before going. I’ve rounded all of those things up for you below!
This post was originally published in February 2021. This post was most recently updated in May 2022 and reflects the rollback of Waco’s mask mandate.
Silos in Waco Pandemic FAQ’s
- Is social distancing easy to maintain? No, but I have a caveat to this. Magnolia Market was easily the most crowded building we went into. Like all the other stores on the property, they limited the amount of people allowed in at a time, had separate entrances and exits, etc. But people are crazy. If you’re standing near that apron they’ve seen Joanna wearing or near that hat that Chip wears on demo day, you’ll basically be pushed out of the way so they can get to it. However, when it comes to waiting in lines for things like the bakery and Magnolia Press, there are clear markers on the ground to mark where you should be standing and most people comply with it. (I had one family that was on top of me the entire time I was in line for the bakery, but they were the exception.)
- Was hand sanitizer readily available throughout the property? Yes, there were stations at the entrance and exit of every store.
Things to Know About the Silos in Waco
- If possible, plan on visiting the Silos in Waco during a weekday to avoid the worst crowds. We visited on a Friday, but it was also during the pandemic, so crowds were probably more present than a typical Friday, though still manageable.
- You will need a car if you want to visit all the Magnolia/Fixer Upper locations in Waco. While the Silos is home to Magnolia Market, Magnolia Press, Silos Baking Co., and Magnolia Seed + Supply, Magnolia Table and Little Shop on Bosque are a bit of a drive away.
- Make sure you grab a passport from one of the shops! The passport is a little booklet that has a map featuring all the locations in the city, but you can also get it stamped at the different places. I may not have been able to collect any real passport stamps in 2020, but you better believe I got as many Magnolia Passport stamps as I could!
- The line for the Silos Baking Co. looks like it is out the door and around the corner, but they move pretty quickly. They also have the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had, so I think it’s worth the wait.
- Magnolia Market, the main store to buy all your souvenirs from, can only ship items that are in stock in their warehouse. This means that they can only ship items that are available on their website. (The signage around the store is pretty misleading about this.) If you find a piece that you have your heart set on that they can’t ship (like I did), there is a UPS about 5 minutes away. HOWEVER, the cost of packaging + shipping from UPS can be freakin’ insane! We bought a massive wicker shelf and it was going to cost us about $150 to package and ship it home…we didn’t even spend that much on the shelf itself… Instead we ended up buying a box and small piece of bubble wrap from UPS, because their box was the only one we could find that fit it perfectly, but shipped it from a USPS because shipping was about half the price.
- One other thing to note about Magnolia Market is that if you make a purchase there, no matter how small, your receipt will earn you a discount at the Little Shop on Bosque! It’s not a huge discount, maybe 10 or 15%? But every little bit counts!
- Speaking of the Little Shop on Bosque, make sure you visit it! The Little Shop on Bosque is where the original Magnolia shop was located. (Lifelong fans of Fixer Upper will recognize it for its iconic Magnolia sign that Jo made from giant repurposed metal letters.) It’s a bit of a drive from the Silos, but 100% worth it! Little Shop on Bosque has remainder and slightly damaged items at crazy discounted prices. I had originally seen that shelf we shipped home at the Magnolia Market, but it was out of stock online…meaning they couldn’t ship it to me. I had decided that if it was meant to be, it would be and I would wait for it to hopefully come back in stock. If it never came back in stock then it just wasn’t meant to be. Well, wouldn’t ya know…we went to Little Shop on Bosque and found a very slightly bent one there for 50% off!!! If that’s not a sign of it being meant to be then I don’t know what is!
- Don’t skip out on the little shops over by the church! (The church has a big white steeple and is in the center of the Silos property; you can’t miss it.) The little shops are all clearly organized into a specific category (children, men’s wear and accessories, bath and body products, leather goods, etc.) and they feature products from mostly local artisans. Those shops may have actually been one of my favorite parts!
- Finally, allow yourself some time to just sit and relax! The property is truly stunning, and there is plenty of outdoor space where you can sit and hang out. Grab a coffee from Magnolia Press, grab a table or couch outside, and enjoy a moment of peace amidst the chaos that is the Fixer Upper-craze.