Former Fixer Upper stars Joanna and Chip Gaines’ latest venture is reportedly causing “chaos” for residents who live near and around the couple’s Magnolia Market businesses.
Radar Online reported that a source close to the couple remarked their newest restaurant, Magnolia Table, is causing “chaos” in their hometown.
The couple opened the local hotspot Magnolia Table in February of this year. The breakfast and lunch eatery is located on one of the busiest streets in town and nearby businesses are feeling the heat as the influx of traffic has caused difficulties for residents who live and work near the establishment.
A business owner reported to Radar that the city’s famed center has become a “tourist trap.”
“Their restaurant brings in tourists so the town had to paint new lines around the city circle to help the tourists navigate it,” the business owner alleges to Radar.
Magnolia Table is also allegedly creating a “spike in car accidents in the area” as noted by the source. “Almost every day there’s a fender bender,” remarked the insider. “It’s difficult to maneuver around.”
The couple has also reportedly created a sour taste in the mouth of residents in the area who allege the couple has not formally introduced themselves to their fellow business owners in the area.
Magnolia Table has been open for business for about five months. The couple noted their surprise at the spike in the number of visitors they have experienced in their stores and restaurant on their site in April.
“Magnolia Market at the Silos has become a destination for guests and fans around the country. We’ve been blown away by the amount of people flocking to our store in Waco, Texas!” the site stated.
The page then gives visitors some hints and tips to make their experience more “pleasurable,” which include arriving at the area early in the morning or late in the day to avoid pedestrian and vehicle traffic and taking a trolley to the area instead of a car.
The site also notes the couple has asked visitors to respect the areas neighboring businesses by not using their parking lots when visiting the area.
Magnolia Market and Magnolia Table are just two of the businesses in the Chip and Joanna Gaines conglomerate, which also include Magnolia Store, a hit cookbook, a line with Target called Hearth and Hand, a partnership with Bed, Bath & Beyond, books, vacation rentals, a magazine titled T he Magnolia Journal , and several home improvement collaborations with paint and wallpaper companies.
Reruns of Fixer Upper continue to air on HGTV.
