Too early to make reservations? Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines are turning an old cafe into a “breakfast joint” — and it sounds perfect.
The reality TV couple — who are known for turning clients’ out-of-date homes into luxurious modern abodes — purchased Elite Cafe in Waco, Texas, in May, three months after it closed down. Chip opened up about the renovation in a new interview with Southern Living magazine.
“I’ve always been a breakfast connoisseur. I always do a heavy, bigger breakfast, but Jo is the exact opposite. She was kind enough to come with me on this one,” he explained.
“The restaurant itself is literally one big giant kitchen. When we first got in there, it was all the things you can imagine — dingy, musky. But if I took you in there today, you’d be like, ‘Oh! This is so clean, everything smells so great,'” he added. “Those are a few benefits of a little bit of elbow grease and hard work on the front end.”
According to the mag, the cafe originally opened as the Elite Cafe in 1919 and served burgers, steaks and salads. Fun fact: Elvis Presley was often a customer when he trained at Fort Hood in the 1950s.
Chip and Joanna are elated about the progress they’ve made — and so are some previous critics. “Now, everybody that comes in tells me how smart I was to have bought this property,” Chip said. “Six months ago, I wasn’t getting as many encouragements. But the restaurant has some serious history that we’re going to tap into.”
The couple’s careers have skyrocketed since the debut of their popular HGTV show in 2013, but they appear to have remained grounded. In their book, The Magnolia Story, they revealed the odd marriage advice they once received from another couple.
“Bryan and Carla suggested we try to go the first few weeks of our marriage without a TV,” the pair explained. “[What] they suggested was that we try to stay focused on each other and spend quality time doing things we loved together, especially when we were at home. That seemed like a no-brainer to us, but they explained that being in the same house and actually interacting with each other were two different things.”
Watch Chip and Joanna play the Newlywed Game with Us Weekly in the video above!
