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HGTV fans know Chip and Joanna Gaines as the stars of Fixer Upper, but they’ve since branched out into several other business ventures. They’re the proud creators of Magnolia, and Joanna even started her cooking series, Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines. In one episode, she discusses how she and Mikey McCall “robbed” their family’s store in their younger years.

Joanna Gaines and Chip Gaines smiling while sitting at a table full of food
Joanna Gaines and Chip Gaines | Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

Who is Mikey on ‘Magnolia Table’? She’s known for her plant shop

Mary Kay “Mikey” McCall is Joanna Gaines’ younger sister. Mikey appears on Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines to cook alongside her sister, and the two have fond memories of growing up.

While Mikey has connections to the ultra-famous Fixer Upper couple, she also finds success on her own. She started Ferny’s, “the business of her dreams: retro-inspired plant shop that blends her passion for gardening with her love of unique, vintage items,” according to People. The shop opened at Magnolia Market at the Silos in March 2021.

“Mikey’s sense of wonder and heart for adventure mixed with her love of plants and vintage finds have helped her create something truly special,” Joanna wrote on Instagram when Ferny’s opened. “I can’t wait to see all that she does. [She] has had this dream for years and with six kids and the busyness of life, she’s waited patiently to step out and pursue this creative and quiet stirring in her heart. But today she’s going for it!”

Joanna Gaines said she and Mikey ‘robbed’ their family store

Mikey McCall and Joanna Gaines made oatmeal cream pies together on an episode of Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines. During the episode, the sisters reminisced on the trouble they’d get into together in their younger years. Together, they dreamed about turning 18 to drive to the grocery store and buy all the candy and chips they could eat.

“I was also telling them about our vending machine days,” Joanna said. “So, we would be bored. And then we would rob the machine and say, hey, we’ll split one.”

“We’d say, one more, let’s split one more,” Mikey added. “And then we’d do that about four times. And a bunch of IOUs.”

“We owed our business some serious cash,” Joanna added.

Joanna’s father owned a tire shop, so that might be the business she and Mikey referred to “robbing” as teens. “I had the privilege of working with him for 10 years at his tire shop and he taught me about these things firsthand,” Joanna posted about her father on Instagram. “I always thought I would take over his shop when he retired, this was at least the plan. … And I love it that every time I smell tires I think of you and the good ol’ days (and now that you work here with me you have to admit it’s a lot nicer to come home smelling like candles).”

Do Chip and Joanna Gaines still own Magnolia Table?

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Chip and Joanna Gaines still own Magnolia Table in 2023.

“What began as Chip’s dream to open a restaurant in Waco then became the namesake of our cookbooks, and now Jo’s cooking show,” the website explains. “We have a big heart for time spent in the kitchen — so we’ve created one place where you can easily shop Jo’s cooking essentials and find all the recipes to make every gathering at your table one to remember.”

Some of Joanna’s recipes she shares on her Magnolia Table cooking show might even end up at the restaurant for fans to try, too.

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