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Getting There
We decided to take a little road trip to the Pioneer Woman Mercantile for President’s Day. It was such a good time! If you’ve watched the Food Network, you’ve probably heard of Ree Drummond and her cooking show, The Pioneer Woman. The Mercantile, or as it’s lovingly called “The Merc,” is Ree’s store/deli/bakery in Pawhuska, OK. Where in the world is Pawhuska, OK you ask? It’s in northern Oklahoma near the Osage Reservation. The Pioneer Woman Mercantile is only about a 2 hour and 15 minute drive from OKC, so not a bad drive at all. From Oklahoma City, hop on I-35 North to Tonkawa and then take US-60 East to Pawhuska.
The General Store
We got to The Merc at about 11 am and checked in at the host stand. There was an hour and a half wait for our table, so we had plenty of time to get some shopping in. The general store has some great affordable unique items for purchase from jewelry to clothing to kitchen items. I bought some adorable melamine plates that have the look of paper plates. I love them! Be sure to look in all of the drawers while shopping. There are items in there too! You can get some of the items off of Amazon here, but some are unique to The Merc and can only be purchased there.
The Bakery
We were also able to get some pastry-eating in before we had lunch. Who says you can’t have dessert first? In my opinion, the bakery was the best part. So, if you want to skip the deli altogether and avoid the long lines, you can totally just do the bakery and load yourself up on sweet treats and coffee. The lines are much shorter. Scott and I shared a strawberry cream cheese danish and I had a vanilla latte while we waited for our table, and they were both SO good! Sydni and Sadie shared a buttered croissant, which was also amazing. We bought a piece of prune cake to take home because it came highly recommended. Honestly, I didn’t really care for it. I much preferred the danish and croissant.
We Met Ladd!
We were lucky enough to meet Ladd (Ree’s husband) while upstairs in the bakery and the girls and I took a photo with him. He seems like a nice fellow. He suggested that we go on the tour of The Lodge while waiting for our table. So, there’s a tip from Ladd himself if you have a really long wait and need to pass the time. Our wait time was almost up when he suggested this to us, so we just finished up our treats in the deli and then the host was texting us that our table was ready.
The wait for our table went by fairly quickly. Being able to shop and look around at all of the pretties in the general store and snack on some pastries is so helpful when you have kiddos with you. Otherwise, they would have been cranky and bored with the long wait.
Tip For Avoiding Long Lines
If you don’t want to wait in line for hours to eat at the deli, the general rule of thumb is that the earlier you get there, the shorter the line will be. I would suggest getting there for breakfast, and that would be your best chance of not having a long wait. Also, I’ve heard coming on a non-holiday Monday or Wednesday is your best bet for fewer crowds. The Merc opens at 7 am 6 days a week and is closed on Sundays.
The Deli
We ordered the queso dip and chips for an appetizer. For our meals, I had the fried chicken sandwich and Scott had the spicy Dr. Pepper pork. We could have easily shared one entree, but we wanted to get the entire experience and try more than one thing. There was not a kids menu, so my girls ordered off of the adult menu. Sydni had the chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese dippers, and she did not like either one. Sadie had the half order of chicken parmesan, which was still enough to feed 3 people, and she loved it. The food was good in my opinion, but not great. I would definitely give it another shot and try out a few more menu options the next time we go. I did love the biscuits and homemade jam that came with some of the entrees.
Charlie’s Sweet Shop
Ree Drummond also opened Charlie’s Sweet Shop right across the street from the Pioneer Woman Mercantile. As if we hadn’t already eaten enough, I’m all about the experience, so we had to go. Charlie’s offers 16 different flavors of ice cream, toppings, and candy. Charlie’s Sweet Shop is named after Ree’s beloved bassett hound who passed away in 2017.
The Lodge
We also toured The Lodge on Drummond Ranch, which is where they film the show The Pioneer Woman. That was really fun to see. I recognized many of the items from the set. Clearly, Sadie and I are ready for our own cooking show on @foodnetwork. 🙄 #naturals
They don’t do The Lodge tours every day, so make sure you check the website in advance before you go. I highly suggest that you plan to go on a day they are offering the tours. They are free of charge. You just need to get a ticket from the host stand at The Mercantile. The ticket will have the super secret directions on how to get there. It’s about a 30 minute drive from The Mercantile on some dirt/gravel roads. My girls loved getting to meet the Drummond family dogs.
It would be fun to stay the night, but Scott and I both had to work the next day, so we weren’t able to this time. I would love to go back and stay at The Boarding House. This is the 8 room hotel that Ree and Ladd Drummond opened up just a few doors down from The Mercantile, and it looks amazing! It always books up so fast, so you have to be quick to stay there.
Here are some other recommendations of where to stay that look really good from The Mercantile website: https://www.themercantile.com/pages/where-to-stay
Have you visited The Pioneer Woman Mercantile in Pawhuska, OK? Did you eat at the deli and/or bakery? Did you purchase some unique finds? Hopefully, you were lucky enough to meet Ree or Ladd while you were there. Let me know in the comments!
To see the post of our family day trip to The Gathering Place in Tulsa, OK, click here.
