20 Places you Should Visit in Waco, Texas {thinking beyond Magnolia Market}

This post is in collaboration with Mazda and Driveshop. All opinions are 100% my own.
Hey friends! I just returned from Waco, Texas and if you are a fan of HGTV's Fixer Upper {you can find the first two seasons on Netflix}, the first question I always get is, did you visit The Silos. Of course I did! Chip and Joanna Gaines have put Waco, Texas on the map as a destination to visit.

I ate a cupcake at the new Magnolia bakery {Cup o' Jo in case you were wondering} and shopped the Magnolia Market.  I tried to answer the question that I often get, is it worth a trip to Waco, Texas just to visit Magnolia Market, and wanted to follow up with a list of stores and food stops that are just as worthy of a visit if you find yourself in Waco.  

In fact, I wish I had had this list in my hands when I was visiting. I had a few hours to kill one afternoon and having already visited Magnolia Market {5 things to know before you visit}, I was looking for somewhere else to shop or something else to do in the Waco area. I hope you will find this list helpful if you are visiting Waco, Texas.

First off, you want to make sure you have plenty of room to carry all of your fun finds. 

I borrowed a 2016 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring AWD and I was glad I had the space. Not only, did I have enough room to move my son into his college dorm with all of his belongings for the year, I also had plenty of room to shop. I was also very thankful for the navigation system. I was able to plug in the address and I was able to easily navigate my way around Waco, Texas.  The CX-9 has one of the best heads up displays of any car I have driven and it has a lot of the features I love like blind spot monitoring.  I knew a few of the main streets that housed some shops I wanted to visit {Franklin, La Salle, Speight} and used those streets as a guide. Waco isn't that big! Drive around and you may find some hidden gems yourself.

If you are staying overnight, I think that the Hilton is a great centrally located hotel. Last time I was there, they were redoing the pool area and it was looking amazing. It's centrally located and is walking distance to Spice Village {listed below} and it's on the new Trolley route so you can park and ride for free {though I never had an issue with parking}.  I will tell you that you can find a few of the Fixer Upper homes that have been remodeled as VRBO listings. I love the idea of the VRBO home because you have much more room to spread out.  However, I'm not sure how I feel about some of the Fixer Upper homes being listed for rent. I'm still on the fence about it. If that's your thing though, and you want an authentic Fixer Upper home, look into it.  

Shops to Visit

The Findery  501 S. 8th Street Spice Village  213 Mary Ave. Junque in the Trunk  910 La Salle Ave. Shades of Shabby  926 La Salle Ave. Riverside Relics 1105 La Salle Ave. Laverty's 600 N. 18th Street  Harp Design Co. 808 N. 15th  Summer Ellis Boutique 601 Franklin Ave. Interior Glow 601 Franklin Ave.

Some notes:

The Findery is walking distance from Magnolia Market. The Findery is located inside a historic building and has similar prices {and items} to those you will find in Magnolia Market.  Spice Village is a collection of shops {90+ shops including Congress Clothing that has made multiple appearances as duds on Fixer Upper} with everything from hand painted signs to Baylor University gear to boutique clothing. It's worth getting lost in for an hour or so.   Junque in the Trunk {cheap cotton stems and amazing windmills} and Shades of Shabby are located right next door and Riverside Relics {loved the jewelry selection from That Place I love} is diagonally across the street.  Junque in the Trunk has made some appearances on Fixer Upper as one of Joanna's go to shops. I picked up some of those signature cotton stems here for only $8 and left the $13 ones at Magnolia Market behind.  Laverty's antique shop {another Joanna favorite} has no real set hours. Check their Facebook page to find out when {and if} they are open.  Summer Ellis {some of Joanna's favorite jewelry pieces are from here} and Interior Glow are connected inside. Parking can be found on the street.   Harp Design Co. is small, but it's got some great modern pieces in store. You can also find a photo album at the front of custom furniture pieces Clint has made. You may recognize a piece or two in the book. I haven't been, but I hear many of the same vendors above and the food trucks below can be found on Saturday's at the Waco Farmer's Market {from 9-1 at 400 S. University Parks Dr.}. It's on my list next time I'm in town.

Great Food Stops in Waco

coffee, bakery and sweet treats

Common Grounds Coffee 1123 S. 8th Street Lula Jane's 406 Elm Ave.  Dichotomy Coffee and Spirits 508 Austin Magnolia Bakery 601 Webster Ave. Heritage Creamery 1125 S. 8th Street Pokey O's {cookies and ice cream food truck check their twitter or instagram for where to find it}

breakfast, lunch and {sometimes} dinner

Olive Branch 215 S. 2nd Street {open until 3} Vitek's BBQ 1600 Speight Ave.  George's 1925 Speight Ave. Shorty's Pizza 1712 S. 12th Street. Wako Roll  2804 W. Loop 340

Some notes: 

Common Grounds is by far my favorite coffee shop. It's worth heading onto Baylor's campus for an iced no bull coffee. I crave them when I leave. There is something magic in their secret sauce. Heritage Creamery is located right next door if you want to treat yourself {or the kids} to ice cream. Magnolia bakery is beautiful. It's what you expect a bakery by Joanna Gaines to look like. However, this is a better sweet stop, rather than breakfast and coffee. They are currently serving Common Grounds brewed coffee and have two different kinds of lemonade for drinks. That's it. I'm hoping they expand their menu a bit to include some more breakfast items and maybe some specialty coffee since they open at 7 and people often find themselves hanging out there waiting for the Magnolia Market to open.  Lula Jane's is fresh made from scratch goodness and the menu changes daily depending on what's fresh and on hand. It's a must stop location while you are in Waco. Olive Branch is located below Spice Village and would make a good stop if you paired your visits together, especially for a lunch stop. If you find yourself in Waco, or if you are planning your trip, you will want to add these 20 places to your must see list. I would love to hear if I left off any must stop spots. Would you add anything to this list?
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