Regrets, I have a few from my Chip and Jo Waco trip
- Tonya Nishio
- Oct 9, 2025
- 11 min read
Updated: Oct 23, 2025
After completing my physical therapy and getting to a point in recovery that I did not think I would return to, we decided to go on a celebratory road trip to Waco Tx. We had a doctor's appointment in Dallas, Texas anyway and the distance to Waco would not be that much further. We are retired, so why not? We had seen the home renovation show on TV and were familiar with the couple. I wouldn’t call us fans but it was probably going to be a fun trip. Our appointment was on a Tuesday so we decided to have lunch and do a little shopping in Dallas and then drive to Waco from there which was only about another 1.5 hours. Now, I had originally planned to spend just the weekend or maybe a day or two in Waco because that seems to be the amount of time people spend there. I didn't know; I had never been.
We woke up again without alarm clocks on Friday morning and did not rush. We grabbed a few bites of free breakfast before heading to the Magnolia Market at the Silos. The drive was only about thirteen minutes to get there from our less expensive hotel on the outskirts of all the tourist activities. It was a good thing because we had taken such a lackadaisical attitude that morning that we almost missed our first tour that started at noon. Parking was fairly easy and there wasn’t a large crowd waiting to get in.
We were running late and we weren’t exactly sure where we were supposed to meet for “Inside Magnolia: The Official Tour of Chip and Joanna’s Story.” The lady at the door of the main store was able to give us directions and our tour guide, Kim, met us shortly after. I am not usually one to remember the names of our waitresses or ask what community the bus driver lives in. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not us. This girl, however, was very memorable in her introduction. She told us about her previous life running a rat race as a lawyer in a big city until a major medical event had changed the direction of her life story as well. The tour was very eye-opening and there were a lot of behind the scenes stories and information about a couple that now seems very genuine and real. The tour was scheduled to be about 45 minutes and it ended up lasting about just over an hour. There was a lot of walking or standing, but there were ample times to sit and rest in the little white church chapel while you heard the story about the preserved baseball park where the New York Yankees actually once played.
As a part of this tour, you actually get to visit the rooftop for a great photo op of the silos. There were elevators to get to the roof and only a couple of stairs once there. This tour was a great way to start the day because we walked the entire property and understood where all of the vendors and stores were as well as the rest spots. I was particularly impressed that the markets had water fountain refresh stations and clean restrooms everywhere.
There were more than enough picnic benches and shady rest areas throughout the park, making it such a comfortable place to spend an entire day. The architecture on the preserved buildings was amazing and the history of the facilities were so educational. The shopping was inspirational and vast but so expensive.
In addition to the magnolia coffee shops with cupcakes, there were about 10 food trucks with unique options for a special lunch. They had a traditional hamburger and a hotdog truck, but additionally, they had a fresh squeezed lemonade, pizza, and a grilled cheese truck. We chose to eat at a Korean inspired truck named Club Sandwich that offered rice bowls mixed with cabbage, pickled vegetables, and chicken Bulgogi. OMG it was so good! Not very traditional for this area in Texas and you could tell that a lot of people had not tried it so the owner was handing out chicken samples while he stood next to a sign that read “ voted Waco’s second fav food truck! (and the first isn’t here)”. The bottom of the sign said “ free samples for basic or scared people”. Haha! When he asked me if I wanted a sample, I asked him if he thought I was basic. We both had a good laugh, and then I tried probably the best chicken Bulgogi I have ever had.
We enjoyed our food truck lunch on these adorable specialty made picnic benches with a black and white awning that made it feel so festive. I actually convinced my husband to make me one. He took pictures of the table while we waited on our food to be prepared.
After lunch, we thought we would go to the Magnolia Café and enjoy one of our homemade cupcakes, but we were pretty full. Still craving something sweet we had to stop when we happened upon a mini donut factory. The menu offered a huge bucket of mini donuts with gooey drizzle and sprinkles, which sounded delicious, but there was no way we were going to fit that in our belly, so we took a chance and asked them if they had anything smaller that was not on the menu and surprisingly, he did! We were able to get a cup full of the same donuts at a much smaller price and I don’t think we ordered sprinkles, but I’m glad that he added them because they weren’t the traditional candy sprinkles. They were festive frosting-based sprinkles. We didn’t finish the cup of donuts, but it didn’t feel nearly as neglectful to throw away half a cup of donuts as it would have if we had gotten the huge bucket. We easily spent four or five hours at Magnolia strolling through the shops and enjoying the property.
I wish we would have grabbed a cupcake early in the morning before the long lines. I regret not trying it although the restaurant was rumored to be overrated.
As we were walking out, there were signs, encouraging you to visit the original magnolia shop, the Little Shop on Bosque. Although we had heard that this little store was not in the best neighborhood. There was still plenty of daylight so we decided to take the road trip. It was about 13 minutes or so from the silo and the neighborhood was a stark contrast to the downtown tourist area we had just left. You actually had to park at a neighboring church to go to the little shop and there was a guard with bullet proof vest at the entry, which should tell you everything you need to know about the neighborhood. The shop was teeny tiny, and a lot of the items that were in the shop resembled what we had already seen at the silo however, this is a scratch and dent sort of overstock store so the prices were amazing. I quickly bought several things inside the teeny store and then went to the backyard where they had a barn full of other great picker finds. Although the outside was also small, the prices were unbelievable, and the quality of the items were outstanding for a “ scratch and dent” offering. I added several pieces to my already full backseat and we were on our way.
I wish I had made a list of Christmas gift recipients that I needed to buy for before going to the big shopping event.
When we were at the rooftop during the first tour, the guide pointed out the hotel. It was the largest renovation that Chip and Jo had ever undertaken. Although we didn’t see all of the episodes, we had seen commercials and I think we saw part of one show. We did briefly look at availability when deciding where to stay. It was much more expensive than where we actually decided to stay but it looked very interesting. We decided to do a quick walk through. We parked on the street pretty easily and avoided the check-in desk as best as we could by turning right into the retail shop. It was classically laid out with cute candles and crystals with the Hotel 1928 name to remember your stay. The store was pretty small and it was conveniently located next to a casual area with couches and a fireplace. Then, we quickly came upon a little coffee and wine bar with the sweetest lady ready to take our order. The wine list was surprisingly pretty good and we had to try one of these cookies. They are served warm and we were encouraged to take our wine with us as we walked around the hotel.
There was a sign by the staircase saying that the downstairs library was reserved for hotel guests but Megan, our wine server, said we could be her guests if anyone asked. We found out later that the purpose of the sign was really directed at the dozens of college students that were being disrespectful and loud in that area. The staircase, well double staircases, were so regal. It was a little intimidating but luckily, there was an elevator just behind us. Getting off the elevator, we caught a glimpse of the sheer number of books in this room. It was overwhelming.
I wish we would have watched the hotel renovation episodes so we understood the importance of the books. They were previously the personal collection of Larry McMurtry. If you don’t recognize the name, he was the writer of several novels including Terms of Endearment and Lonesome Dove.
The library was dark and inviting with the foe fireplace and the brass bowls of dominoes. We made note that the leather chairs would look amazing in our home and decided to sit for a few minutes and enjoy our wine. While we were enjoying our casual time, we took in a game of chess. I quickly outsmarted my hubby (no, not really). From the basement library, we decided to ride that elevator all the way up to Bertie’s on the Rooftop. The restaurant was closed but we walked through to get a peak at the outdoor seating area that was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the various styles of seating areas. The ballroom was locked and we obviously didn’t get to go into a guest room. We did visit the restrooms and made note of the antique brass and the deep green tiles. I like this look but my hubby thought there was a little too much green. Back on the main floor, picked up our warm cookie and another glass of wine and retired to the front lounge. We sat on the couches next to another fireplace and admired all of the little touches and decorations. In particular, we just loved the old style painting of Chip and a sheep. It blended so well, we were both asking if that was really him.
We also poked our heads into the Brasserie restaurant. It was also not open for meals yet but there was a couple sitting at the bar having a cocktail. For a free activity, this was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. I highly recommend it.
I wish we would have just paid the extra money to stay at the hotel. We really enjoyed the ambiance during the visit, and I think the investment would have made good memories.
Plugging the address for the Gristmill (The Magnolia Table Cooking Show Experience), we realized we hadn’t planned quite enough time to get there. The Gristmill is a little way out of town and not near the rest of the Gaines tours. We rolled up to this neighborhood with no commercial buildings in sight. We had never seen Joanna’s cooking show, so we weren’t sure what to look for but I was expecting something more like a studio. The email confirmation said street parking and a few spots were blocked off with parking signs but the ones that were not being used, had a chain around them. We did a U-turn and tried to find parking on the other side of the street when a woman came from this limestone building waving her hands and yelling at us that it was on to park in front of the empty lot or in between mailboxes next door. She was indeed the tour guide and checked us in after we parked. The house was stunning but far from what I would call accessible. The parking situation was just the first clue.
Walking through the drive into the back yard covered in white gravely rocks was just a little challenging. There was not a noticeable walking path. One lady walked with a cane so she seemed really uneasy. There were a few really picturesque spots in the back yard that we enjoyed while we waited for the last tour guests to arrive. The tour started in the basement of the house which meant that we would need to take two steps up and then about 3 or 4 steep steps down into the basement without a handrail. It was a short inconvenience. Once we were all inside, the guide and all the guests gave short introductions. We were told that although the house had 4 bathrooms, the only one available to be used was here on this floor so several guests took advantage of the opportunity. The guide told stories about the backstage of Joanna’s cooking show and Chip’s multimedia production studio, Blind Nil. Sound familiar? That’s right, the term for a really risky move in the game of spades. I thought that was clever. I am not too big on plates, bowels, and serving dishes but the basement was full of them. I guess that makes sense for a show like this but all I could think about was who had a kitchen big enough to hold all these different shapes of dishes. I guess Joanna picked the dishes for each item she is cooking on the episode ahead of time. If I was a fan of the show, I’m sure it would have been much cooler to be in her basement. The tour moved up to the main floor and were instructed to continue up the next set of stairs to the third floor green rooms. One guest decided to skip this part of the tour and chose to rest on the second floor instead. On the third floor, we saw where edits are made and the room where the show guests hang out as well as the room where Joanna gets ready for the show. Her bathroom was so impressive and the tour guide shared a lot of personal stories about the family. She showed personal items including a box of diapers in the closet. We left the tour a couple minutes early because I knew going down that flight of stairs was going to take a little extra time and I didn’t want all the other guests standing there waiting for me. When the tour caught up with us on the main floor, we were given the photo opportunity to stand behind her kitchen island just like in her cookbooks and on her show. It was hard to imagine the significance, not being familiar with any of the novelty at the time.
The stories the guide shared about the filming and the crew made us want to watch it though. Now that we are back home, we are on season 2 already and it is a really good show! Ok more stairs back to the basement and back outside onto the gravel to go see the white greenhouse in the back yard. Now the tour lost 2 or 3 guests between the climbing, standing and uneven waking but there wasn’t much to see in the greenhouse anyway. A few guests braved the basement stairs again to use the rest facilities prior to getting back on the road and other guests rushed off to another Chip and Joanna tour. Overall, I am glad I did this tour but it does seem like a little more effort could be put into making the tour more convenient for less mobile individuals.
I wish I had watched Joanna’s cooking series before going to Waco because in it, she visits a place called Jesse’s Tortilla Factory. Had I known to look for that, I would have definitely visited.
Now I want to go to Waco.