‘The Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond: Christmas at the Pioneer Woman Mercantile Is ‘Magical’
Ree Drummond took her viewers on a tour of The Mercantile during her discovery+ special, Hometown Stories. The Pioneer Woman says The Mercantile goes through a “magical transformation” during Christmas. It’s a group effort to get everything ready for the season. Here’s what you’ll find at The Merc during the holidays.
The Pioneer Woman Mercantile becomes a Christmas wonderland
During Hometown Stories Season 1 Episode 3 (titled Christmas Magic at The Mercantile”), Drummond reveals what it takes to get The Mercantile ready for Christmas. She says it’s a truly “magical” experience. During Christmas time, Drummond says The Mercantile is transformed with “enchanting décor.”
Drummond starts by giving a bit of history about The Mercantile. She says it used to be an old, abandoned building in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. It served many purposes during different times.
“It had been a department store and even a prohibition drinking den,” says Drummond. “We kept what we could, fixed up the rest, and five years ago we opened our store, bakery, and restaurant,” she continues.
Drummond tells People magazine she was hesitant to take on The Mercantile project at first. However, her husband, Ladd, was ready to get started. “At first I thought, ‘Do we really need another project? Let me sleep on it,’” says Drummond. “Then [Ladd] broke ground while I was asleep.”
Decorating The Mercantile for Christmas
It takes a team of people to decorate The Mercantile and get it ready for the holidays. Drummond says when they’re finished, they turn the space into a “beautiful, Christmasy gem alive with old-town charm.” David, the lead decorator, says it’s “a major undertaking” to decorate The Mercantile during the holidays.
The decoration project involves hanging 10,000 feet of garland and installing 30 Christmas wreaths. David says the “giant” wreath in the deli is over 5 feet tall. It’s so large that it takes four men and two ladders to hang the wreath on the wall. There are also a total of 10 Christmas trees around The Mercantile, ranging anywhere from 4 feet to 12 feet. Each tree is hand decorated. There are tons of Christmas lights throughout The Merc—roughly 30,000 mini lights adorn the space.
Another festive part of The Mercantile is the gift-wrapping station. Drummond talks about the beautiful paper and neat folding at the station. She jokes that if she worked at the wrapping station, the gifts wouldn’t look as neat as the ones at The Merc.
The Mercantile restaurant and bakery
Drummond takes time to talk about The Mercantile restaurant. She says the establishment is open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and serves a variety of food. Some of the bestsellers are chicken fried steak and pecan pie. Holiday specials such as hot cocoa pancakes are also popular among the customers.
In The Mercantile bakery you can find a variety of treats such as triple chocolate cupcakes, croissants, orange marmalade twists, and blueberry lemon croissants. Drummond says the bakery sells roughly 100,000 cookies every year.
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