A few years back I received The Pioneer Woman's first cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, as a gift for Christmas.
I love it and have since bought for myself or received as gifts all her other cookbooks!
The Pioneer Woman or Ree Drummond also has her own blog and recently opened a shop called The Mercantile in her hometown of Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
Ree and her husband Ladd purchased an old red brick building in downtown Pawhuska and had it completely remodeled.
And the results are stunning.
I just love old red brick buildings and am always so happy to see them rescued from demolition.
According to The Pioneer Woman's website, the building was originally a mercantile beginning in 1910 and was known as the Osage Mercantile.
It was a place for trading goods and browsing. Ree and her family wanted to honor that legacy by recreating that shopping experience with hints to an earlier time in small-town America.
And there seems to be construction and remodeling of other buildings going on too!
We were told the Mercantile had 12,000 visitors on opening day, so it's great that The Pioneer Woman's business is bringing traffic again to old downtown Pawhuska and to Osage county.
We happened to be in the area because my granddaughter graduated from Army boot camp at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in December. When heading home to Ohio, my husband and I stopped in Pawhuska to see the Mercantile.
Beautiful displays of kitchenware |
If you love the Pioneer Woman and her recipes you're going to love this shop!
I was amazed at all the beautiful dishes, kitchen gadgets, cowboy/girl nic-nacs, fabric, clothes and of course her cookbooks.
Baskets for shopping and vintage fabrics |
You can just see the staircase in this pic leading to the bakery! |
You can also have lunch if you need a rest from shopping and afterward have fabulous desserts (or have them before).
There was a long line to have lunch so my husband and I just did desserts, which can be found at the second-floor bakery. We tried the fruit pastries (OMG) and Oatmeal Crispies.
I must confess, I immediately made the Oatmeal Crispies when we got home, yum!
Not sure what I'm doing, but that's the bakery behind me! |
Fruit pastries!! |
Cookies! |
And even more desserts! |
We visited on a Saturday and arrived around 9 or 10 am. By the time we left, a line was forming so get there early or expect a wait.
Although we just didn't have the time to see other things in the area, there are other really interesting things to do in Osage County. Click this link for more info on Nearby Attractions.
I'd really like to go back and spend a couple days touring the other attractions and of course shopping at The Merc. And hopefully, I'll run into the Pioneer Woman! I need her to autograph all my cookbooks! I hope and pray, that if I do see her, I remain composed and not stutter or say something completely stupid!
Elizabeth
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On my list, I can't wait to visit. Going this fall. Terri
ReplyDeleteWe loved it and I hear many more shops have opened in the downtown along with a hotel
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