Chip Gaines Makes Town Nervous After Buying Bookstore They’d Be ‘Devastated’ to See Disappear
HGTV‘s Fixer Upper fans have been following Chip and Joanna Gaines for years, and they’re astonished by all that the Gaines family has accomplished. The couple created their Magnolia empire in Waco, Texas, and they’re expanding even more. Chip reportedly acquired landmarks in Archer City, Texas — and the townspeople are apparently nervous about what it could mean for their beloved bookstore.
Chip Gaines purchased landmarks in Archer City, Texas, that have residents buzzing
Joanna and Chip Gaines are no strangers to expanding their Magnolia empire. And it looks like Chip is branching out beyond Waco, Texas, and into Archer City.
According to CNN, Chip bought famous author Larry McMurtry’s historic Texas bookstore, Booked Up Inc. McMurtry, who wrote Lonesome Dove and The Terms of Endearment, opened the store in 1987. It has since become a destination for book lovers all over the country. In November 2022, Chip acquired two additional buildings that make up the bookstore, too.
The bookstore hasn’t been opened for the last year, and the people of Archer City want to know what Chip plans to do with the buildings. Some townspeople are concerned Chip will give Archer City a Waco-style makeover and do away with the books. But a spokesperson said Chip plans to “preserve” the book collection.
“He loves this community and has been a big fan of Larry McMurtry for years,” the spokesperson said. “Chip is honored and excited to preserve this incredible book collection with the respect it deserves.”
Jerry Phillips, the former owner of the Archer County News, also spoke to CNN about the situation. “People would be devastated if the bookstore disappeared,” he said. “It needs to have some presence here just for his legacy.”
Some residents in Waco, Texas, reportedly don’t like how the ‘Fixer Upper’ couple has infiltrated
Chip and Joanna Gaines have caused a stir with Waco, Texas, residents in the recent past. The couple created Magnolia in Waco, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors with their markets, restaurants, and events. While Waco wasn’t a destination before, the Fixer Upper couple ensured that people all over the country would want to visit now.
The Waco economy has boomed thanks to Chip and Joanna. But not everyone’s happy. Many Waco residents who lived in the town before Chip and Joanna built it up find themselves displaced.
“I look at the kids. They had their grandmother right there next door or down the street — that’s gone,” Marsha Martie, a pastor of CrossTies, told the Houston Chronicle. “Families and friends who have known each other forever — gone. That destruction of community just tears at my soul. That is absolutely the worse outcome.”
Where do Chip and Joanna Gaines currently live?
While Chip and Joanna Gaines worked diligently on expanding Waco, Texas, they also live nearby. Country Living reports the couple lives in a 1,700-foot Victorian home surrounded by 40 acres of property in Crawford, Texas, right outside Waco. They purchased the 1895 farmhouse in 2012 and completed their renovations in a year and a half. Now, the home comfortably fits their family of seven.
Joanna wasn’t always pleased with where she and Chip lived. In 2015, she posted a photo of one of the first homes she and Chip flipped.
“Chip and I were going down memory lane today and we stopped at one of our first houses,” she wrote. “I remember crying when Chip said we were moving in- it was dumpy and it smelled bad. We fixed it up and fell in love with it. To this day, if you ask us what our favorite house we ever lived in we both go back to this little white 800-square-foot home. We were broke and were forced to be creative with our resources and we were proud as punch about this place.”
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