Millions of people in Texas got a very unwelcome and unpleasant surprise when this month's devastating winter storm led many to lose heat and running water inside their homes, as well as sustaining a lot of property damage in the process. Now former HGTV superstars Chip and Joanna Gaines, who are preparing to launch their own network, have revealed that even their properties in the beleaguered state weren't immune to damage from the storm.
Chip and Joanna Gaines, who are currently in the middle of Season 1 of their return to home renovation television with the new show, Fixer Upper: Welcome Home, airing on Discovery+, have a number of other business ventures, with many of them based in Waco, Texas. This includes the duo's restaurant, Magnolia Table, which is known for using homegrown ingredients for its elevated breakfast, brunch, and lunch fare.
While one might already expect the restaurant to be closed right now, with everything that's happened recently, it turns out that the property did sustain quite a bit of damage during the storm, and will need some repairs. Take a look at the video Chip Gaines posted to Instagram to get glimpse of the current state of their business:
As noted by Chip Gaines in the quick clip he posted, when they were able to return to Maganolia Table to check out the property after the storm blew through, they were, unfortunately, met with a busted pipe which had partially flooded the restaurant. There's also quite a bit of debris on everything, a downed chandelier and a nasty hole in the ceiling. Gaines didn't note how long it would take to clean up the space and fix the damage, but, with the way things are slowly progressing in Texas, it could take a while before Magnolia Table is completely operational again.
Luckily, Chip and Joanna Gaines didn't just post this video to show what they were going through, but to make it known that they realize others who are quite a bit less fortunate than them are dealing with similar, or even worse, situations right now. And, to help out, the couple has started Texas Forever, a charity to help try and alleviate some of the financial burdens people in the state are now dealing with due to damage and other storm related issues. The Gaines family hopes, in this way, to be able to help other organizations already working on "long-term recovery and restoration efforts" in Texas, and have kicked things off by donating $100,000.
While millions of those in the state are still without power, there are others who have been hit with astronomical bills due to price hikes caused by the supply shortage and skyrocketing demand, with many people who have variable rate electricity plans being subjected to immediate charges that sometimes hit tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, of course, there are a lot of people who can't work because of damage to businesses, and others who are having to figure out how to repair damage in their own homes similar to what Chip and Joanna experienced with Magnolia Table.
It's always nice to see celebrities step up and try to make a real difference in the lives of others, and Chip and Joanna Gaines have always seemed like kind people who care about their community, so it makes sense that they'd be quick to help out in such a way.
Fixer Upper: Welcome Home airs new episodes on Discovery+ every Friday, and the couple's Magnolia Network is set to launch programming there and on its own app, this July.
