We have been fortunate to be able to partner with Communities in Schools of the Heart of Texas in the past, and we are thrilled that they wanted to partner with us again for the WacoFork Club. Communities In Schools of the Heart of Texas (CIS-HOT) is part of the national Communities In Schools network, the nation’s leading dropout prevention organization, serving 1.5 million students every year.
I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream from Heritage Creamery becuase they are one of the participating restaurants in the WacoFork Club!
Heritage Creamery started serving ice cream in February 2015 at the Waco Downtown Farmers Market while plans were underway for building out their permanent location at 1125 S. 8th St., right next to Common Grounds, which opened in March of this year. I got my first taste of Heritage Creamery ice cream last year at the first annual Texas Food Truck Showdown in downtown Waco, and it absolutely lived up to the hype.
Mmmmm... cupcakes. I just can't get over how delicious these cupcakes look in this picture from our next participating WacoFork Club restaurant, Cuppiecakes.
Cuppiecakes is a cool little bakery in McGregor serving up delicious cupcakes, cakes, and sandwiches. They also make custom cakes and cupcakes for special events. Go check out their website to see some of the awesome cake designs they've made.
When we decided to partner with non-profit organizations for the WacoFork Club, we thought this would be a great opportunity to help local non-profit organizations raise much needed funds. What we hadn't considered was that this was also agreat opportunity to help raise awareness about some of the great organizations in town and the amazing work they are doing. Getting the chance to partner with the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children has helped me to see the importance of raising awareness about these great organizations, and I'm excited that the WacoFork Club will help us do just that.
Downtown Waco has been revitalized over the past few years, and The Hippodrome has had a huge impact on that revitalization. It also happens to be the next participating restaurant in the WacoFork Club.
The Hippodrome has a rich history in downtown Waco, and few spots downtown are as recognizable as this iconic landmark at the corner of 8th and Austin. Many Wacoans have fond memories of attending The Hippodrome for movies, plays, concerts, and other great entertainment, and we were thrilled when it was announced that The Hippodrome was purchased and would be remodeled and converted to a dine-in theater with a bar and a restaurant.
Chad and I have been friends with the founders of Jesus Said Love (JSL) for a long time, and we are excited to work with them as one of the non-profit partners for the WacoFork Club.
JSL was founded in 2003 by Brett and Emily Mills (of Adele parody viral video fame), 2 Baylor graduates leading worship at Christian conferences. JSL goes into strip clubs across Texas, builds relationships with commercial sex exploits without strings attached, and connects them to community and spiritual resources.
You'll have a great afternoon of shopping after eating a delicious lunch at the next restaurant in the list of WacoFork Club restaurants - Sironia Cafe.
The first thing most people think of when they hear about Sironia is shopping among the variety of boutiques inside, and you might not immediately think of their fantastic cafe right in the middle of the store. The shops at Sironia offer a great selection of gifts, candles, cards, jewelry, furniture, and clothing, brining a fun shopping experience to their historic location on Austin Avenue. But they also have a great restaurant inside, and we are excited that they have decided to participate in the WacoFork Club!
We are really excited to partner with a great organization like Fuzzy Friends Rescue as one of the non-profit partners for the WacoFork Club.
Fuzzy Friends Rescue believes that animals, as living creatures are entitled to a quality life, respect and compassion. Since humans have domesticated animals, we have a moral and ethical responsibility to care for the animals. Our mission is to provide shelter, food, medical treatment and love to our community’s animals that are abandoned, unwanted, or otherwise in need. We want to instill in our community an awareness of the animals whose world we share; encouraging and promoting responsible pet ownership.
Before I get into this next restaurant on the list of participating WacoFork Club restaurants, I wanted to let you know that we just added 5 more restaurants to the list yesterday! We intended to feature all of our participating restaurants before Monday's launch, but it looks like we'll be featuring them into next week. This club is a living thing that will continue to grow long after we launch. We will keep adding restaurants and deals as long as there are restaurants that want to participate.
The next restaurant in the ever-growing list of WacoFork Club participating restaurants is a Waco institution: Captain Billy Whizzbang's. I've been eating at Whizzbang's (true Wacoans call it "Whizzbang's" because who has time to say the whole name?) for as long as I can remember. I can still remember eating at Whizzbang's in their little hole-in-the-wall location on Waco Drive when I was a kid, getting a Coke in a glass bottle and watching them cook a dozen burgers on the flat iron grill behind the counter.
The next WacoFork Club non-profit partner is Methodist Children's Home (MCH).
MCH was established in 1890, and although their name has changed through the years and their program of care has adapted to the needs of those they serve, Methodist Children’s Home remains true to their mission to offer hope to children, youth and families through a nurturing, Christian community. Founded in 1890, MCH is a nationally accredited, nonprofit childcare ministry affiliated with the six United Methodist Annual Conferences of Texas and New Mexico.
