🛍️ TJMaxxing in Waco

Good morning, Waco. This is The Waco Buzz, the local newsletter that’s like finding a gift card in your wallet you forgot about.

Let’s get to it!

— Sam Harper

Gold prices are up. Silver’s been moving.

A lot of Waco families have coins or jewelry sitting in a drawer with no idea what it’s worth. That’s where Reliable Coins comes in. This family-owned shop in Woodway buys and sells gold, silver, precious metals, and collectible coins, and they offer free, no-pressure appraisals.

They’ve earned 153 five-star reviews for a reason.

If you’re cashing out jewelry, selling an inherited collection, or curious about investing in bullion, start with a free appraisal and straight answers.

📍 112 Midway Center, Woodway
📞 (254) 732-4541

🌄 A New Texas State Park Opens
Palo Pinto Mountains State Park officially opened this past Sunday. It’s about a two hour drive from Waco and spans nearly 5,000 acres of rugged hills, big views, and wide Texas sky. There are 16 miles of trails, a 68-acre lake for paddling and fishing, and campsites if you want to stay awhile. This is the first state park to open in the last 25 years. This feels like a perfect spring break trip before the Texas heat shows up.

⛪ Honoring Jimmy Dorrell
After 33 years, Jimmy Dorrell is stepping back as pastor of Church Under the Bridge. The church under I-35 captures the heart of Waco as the Baylor Lariat put it. What started with folding chairs and breakfast conversations grew into a community that reshaped how our city sees and serves people on the margins.

Jimmy also launched Mission Waco and helped start Creekside Community Village, creating housing and long-term support for our neighbors. He’ll continue preaching through Easter on April 5 before leadership transitions to Kevin Brown.

🤝 Community Corner
Great having 35 of you out this past weekend for our first Cameron Park hike with Bear Mountain! March is packed, and I couldn’t be more excited about the lineup we’re rolling out based on your feedback at the end of last year.

Our first Social Studies event on Thursday is sold out. I’ll share a recap soon, along with who’s coming in to speak at the next one in April.

On Wednesday, March 18, we’re launching something new. It’s called The Founders’ Smoke, hosted at Humidor on Austin. This is an event for entrepreneurs, builders, and investors actively shaping Downtown Waco. You’ll learn more of what’s going on downtown, meet others, and discuss how to continue to improve our city. It’s free, but you need to register. Space is limited. More details and registration here.

Dinner Club is back on March 25. If you’ve been meaning to try it, this is your nudge. Here is one of my favorite reviews from last month: “My group was an awesome group to chat with!…I was nervous at first, but everyone in my group was kind and friendly, making the dinner easy. I went to the second location and had a blast meeting others that weren’t in my group. Definitely would recommend doing again!”

Waco (ACT) → San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) for $207 round-trip

This is the "stop what you're doing" price of the month. For roughly the cost of a nice dinner out, you can fly round-trip from Waco to the Caribbean. No passport required, crystal clear water, and 80-degree weather. It’s a crazy-low fare that usually disappears within hours. See Flight Deal →

If this flight deal caught your eye, Denae at Traveluxe can handle the flights, European resorts, and insider perks at no cost to you. Just email [email protected] and she’ll take it from there. ✈️
*_{^{Price is subject to change and may no longer be available at the time you check the link.}}

🛍️ TJ Maxx Is Coming to Waco
If you've driven past the spot next to Mardel by Jason's Deli lately, you've probably wondered what's going in there next. That space has had more lives than a cat from Bin Drop, Halloween Express, Office Maxx, you name it. TJ Maxx will be moving in there this year. Renovations are expected to kick off in the next couple of months with a target completion date of September, right in time for back-to-school shopping. This is the type of place where you go in for a throw pillow and leave with three things you didn't know you needed.

🏗️ Garden City Grocery Inches Closer
If you’ve driven by 18th and Austin lately, you’ve seen the updates. A new pilon sign is up and Garden City Grocery continues to take shape. Developer Peter Ellis says the $5 million redevelopment is about 85% complete, including the grocery store, lofts, and pocket retail. The goal is to bring fresh farm-to-market goods, a meat market, in-store kitchen, juice and coffee bar, and community events to that stretch. Space is available to rent out as well. Read more on the Waco Trib ($).

🍗 King’s Wings Grand Opening
King’s Wings officially opens its standalone location this Saturday starting at 10:30 AM. Music, prizes, and a full day of food. It’s been fun watching them grow from Union Hall and The Grove to their own brick-and-mortar spot at 4300 W Waco Drive. Only other food update we have for you is that Little Caesar’s is taking over the former Sonic space on N 19th St near MCC and HEB with a grand opening coming soon.

🚀 Startup Waco Launchpad (March 11–13)
Startup Waco is launching a free three-day program called Launchpad, built to take you from idea to pitch in one week. It’s designed for first-time founders, side-hustlers, and anyone who’s been thinking about starting a business. It starts on March 11 and seats are limited. Register here.

Primary Election Day is today (March 3). Find a voting location near you →

🗑️ New Landfill Open
The old landfill officially closed this past weekend. The new landfill is now open at 4730 TK Parkway in Axtell. Residential customers can drop off up to one ton, four times per year, at no extra cost. Helpful if your garage has been quietly collecting “I’ll deal with that later” projects.

👃 MLK Wastewater Repairs
If you’ve driven on MLK between I-35 and Franklin and thought, “Something does not smell good,” you’re not wrong. The City approved $2.4 million to repair and bury that major wastewater line between I-35 and Franklin, with work expected to finish by the end of summer. The goal? Get that stretch back to smelling like fresh, clean Waco.

Tuesday:

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Looking Ahead

🎣 Bass Pro Tour Comes to Waco | March 5–8
Fifty-one of the top pro anglers in the world are headed to Lake Waco to compete for a $125,000 top prize. Championship weekend includes a free fan experience at Twin Bridges Park with live coverage, giveaways, and a fishing derby for kids. 👉 Details

🏆 Live Oak Sweeps State
We don’t usually cover high school sports, but this was too big not to mention. Both the Live Oak Classical boys and girls teams won the TAPPS 3A State Championship last week, hosted right here at Robinson High School. The girls are now back-to-back state champions and sit atop the private school basketball world for the second straight year. Jayden Ogden, Duncan Ogden, and Ames Bruster were named to the all-tournament team. Huge accomplishment.

🏀 Baylor Men’s Basketball (15-14)
The Bears split last week, falling to No. 2 Arizona at home 87–80 before edging UCF 87–86 in Orlando. Two games remain before the Big 12 Tournament. If Baylor wants to keep dancing in March, winning the Big 12 may be the only path. As Bon Jovi once said, they’re living on a prayer. They’re at Houston Wednesday night at 8 PM before closing the regular season at home Saturday at 4 PM vs Utah. This stretch decides everything.

🏀Women’s Basketball (23-7, Ranked No. 18)
The No. 18 Bears wrapped up the regular season with a 65–53 loss at No. 11 TCU.Now it’s tournament time. The Big 12 Tournament tips off Friday and runs through the weekend. Baylor has a real shot to win it and improve their March seeding.

⚾ Baseball
Baylor hosts Air Force for a three-game homestand this weekend at Baylor Ballpark. Across town, MCC hosts Grayson College for a Wednesday doubleheader at 12 PM and 3 PM.

🪙153 five-star reviews, free appraisals, and a reputation for fair market value. Reliable Coins is where Waco goes to sell gold and silver the right way.

🐶Enjoy your yard again without the cleanup. Scoopy Doo Waco is offering Waco Buzz readers a free first scoop—no contracts, no pressure.

🔥Spring Into Sweat at HOTWORX Woodway: $1 to join (normally $99), prorated March dues, and April FREE. Stop by 13701 Woodway Dr. or call (254) 870-4508 to claim it.

✨ Skin & Body Refinery delivers top tier injectors, advanced treatments, and natural looking results that help you look and feel your best. They’re offering 15% off the Event Ready treatment plan right now.

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Thanks for reading The Waco Buzz today. If you found something helpful, please share it with your co-worker who recently moved to Waco.

Whenever you’re ready, there are three ways I can help you:

1. Dinner Club: Making new friends as an adult is hard. We make it easy by coordinating a dinner with five others at the table, provide conversation starters, and take the awkward part out of the evening. Next Dinner Club is on March 25.

2. Job Board: The best place to find open roles at growing companies in Waco with opportunities in media, marketing, sales, communication, tech, and engineering. Hiring? Use code STARTUP to post your first job today FOR FREE.

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