A couple of weekends ago, we decided to do a family outing in downtown Marion! If you have kids or grandkids…keep reading. You may just want to rip off this agenda and try it yourself! Keep reading to the end to get some bonus itineraries that you may have never tried before!
Our kids each brought a friend, and we all had a blast! There’s something special about watching your kids laugh and make memories right here in our own downtown…the same streets where generations before us made theirs. Every time we spend a day downtown, I’m reminded that Marion is becoming more of what we all hoped it could be: a place full of life, laughter, and local
flavor.
Here’s how our day went:
1.) MiMi’s Art Hollow: paint your own pottery. This is fun for the artistically gifted all the way down to the artistically challenged (like me) and is sure to get some laughs. Pick out your pottery piece (prices range from $5-100, mostly $15-30), paint whatever colors you want, stay as long as you need. You leave the pottery to get glazed and fired in the kiln, then you return in a week or two to pick it up. PERFECT for gifts.
BONUS POINTS: especially with the teenage crowd, stop for coffee drinks at the
Remnant or Sip Easy (coming very soon!) before pottery painting.
2.) Lunch at Taco Central: who doesn’t love tacos?? If you haven’t been here lately, this is not your typical Mexican restaurant. Fresh ingredients with a unique spin on Tex-Mex. They have several TVs with the big games on for the sports lovers in your life as well.
ALTERNATIVE: Attaboys Comfort Cuisine is also open for lunch on the weekends, and is right next door to MiMi’s. We had just been there the day before, so we mixed it up, but this is a perfect option! Ray Ray’s BBQ is another very strong choice, depending on what you’re in the mood for.
3.) Nicolosi Golf Lounge: you don’t have to be a golfer! We had exactly -ZERO- serious golfers in our group, but everyone had a blast and there was more than one moment of bending-at-the-waist laughter, and possibly even one collapse-of-laughter (teenage girls, IYKYK). We reserved a lane ahead of time to make sure we could walk right in, and we didn’t have to bring clubs or anything. They also had several TVs with college football playing. Had we wanted, we could have brought in or ordered food or drinks. For everything included, for 6 people to share a bay for a whole hour, it was only $45. I can guarantee we would have spent many multiples of that at TopGolf, not to mention fighting traffic.
This whole excursion took about 4 hours. If we wanted to stretch it for longer, we could have easily done so, adding in a coffee stop or some shopping at some of the many downtown boutiques.
Maybe this particular outing isn’t for you. Here are a few other ideas of how to spend a morning, afternoon, or evening in downtown Marion.
Toddler-Elementary Outing:
Pregame Coffee at The Remnant or Sip Easy
MaxAiir Open Jump
Play at LuLu’s Toy Co
Lunch at Ray Ray’s
BONUS: Candy treat from Yummy’s Candy & More or Fidgets from Belenos Creations
Date Night:
Locally made adult beverages at Blend of Seven Winery or Marion Brewing Co
Dinner at Bucci’s Italian Scratch Kitchen
Axe Throwing at Kin & Kilt
Weekday Girls Day:
Breakfast or Lunch at Baires Restaurant or Mike’s Deli
Shop till you drop…work your way from Elena Renee on South Main, down Center Street to Spruce & Sparrow, LuLu’s Toy Co, Southern Accents, and Foxglove Hollow Home Décor
Sweet treat at Whit’s Frozen Custard (coming soon!), possibly take hubby home a quart of his favorite
This is by no means an exhaustive list! There are more shops, restaurants, and gathering places that I didn’t mention. Build your own day, but these are a few ideas to get you started exploring our downtown!
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Occupation: Owner of Foxglove Hollow Home Decor
Are you from Marion? Yes! I was raised here and graduated from Harding. We have lived in Kentucky, and California – and lived in Dublin, Ohio when our girls were tiny. When it was time for our oldest to start Kindergarten, we moved back to Marion to be closer to our parents.
What started your business venture? Two things – First, I love to decorate our home and was always driving one to two hours away to find the kinds of stores that I wanted to shop at. I really wanted to find a way to have a more creative career and thought, why can’t we have that type of store here in Marion? Second – I kept looking for a job in more of a home decor field and wasn’t finding anything that I qualified for. I decided that instead of looking for the perfect job, I would need to create my own. I am not a risk taker – this was very out of character for me! But I love the industry I’m working in, and I love helping people find beautiful decor for their homes or gifts for friends and family.
What is your favorite thing about downtown Marion? I love how alive it’s become over the last 5 years! There are so many great small businesses here that are relatively new. It’s been a wonderful transformation.
Favorite Downtown place to eat or drink? That’s a tough one!
I love the Remnant for tea and chai – and their Avocado toast!
Attaboys has the best fried chicken around! Their collard greens are pretty amazing too.
Taco Central – the Mexican street corn dip is my favorite thing on their menu – my husband loves the Birria burrito
Baires – love their breakfast and I wish I got it more often. There isn’t one bad thing on the menu!
Ray Ray’s has a Pimento Grilled cheese that’s amazing.
Fable Bar has some really fun girly drinks and great ambience.
Mike’s Deli – my go to is the Turkey Club or the Chef Salad
Bucci’s – I like the Italian House salad and wedge salad, the Italian wedding soup, and the brownie dessert!!
Baking People Happy has the best cookies and desserts!
Favorite place to shop: I can’t play favorites here! There are so many places that are great places to shop! Maddie’s on Main has the best jeans, and I always find new clothes that I love there. Elena Renee has all the yummy kitchen mixes – I really like the Mingle drinks. Lulu’s has a huge selection of toys, which comes in handy for gifts for our grandson. I just got the cutest pair of jeans from Spruce & Sparrow! Southern Accents has cute and unique pieces too. Pitter Patter Paws is perfect for pet lovers, and Belenos Creations can make just about anything you can think of. Yummy’s has a huge selection of candy – the old goodies as well as the trendy new candy!
Favorite thing to do downtown? Eat and shop! So many choices!
What’s a “behind the trade” secret? I don’t know if it’s a secret, but my favorite part of having a little shop is that we get to see the upcoming trends before everyone else. I noticed lots of bows, all kinds, at market and knew it would be one of the trends this year.
Noteworthy Mentions: What people may not know is that all the local shop owners work together to make our downtown a fun and inviting place to spend time. I’d love to give our Marion Area Convention & Visitors Bureau a shout out for always helping to promote our events and share all that Marion has to offer. And Downtown Marion Inc for partnering with our local small businesses to coordinate events that bring our community together!
There’s a quiet kind of magic that happens when we choose to spend our time and our dollars right here at home. It’s in the smile of a shop owner who recognizes you from last time, the laughter echoing from families walking down Main Street, and the simple joy of seeing people gather in places that were once quiet. Every meal shared, every gift purchased, and every moment spent downtown helps breathe life into our community’s story.
So this weekend, take a page from our playbook, or create your own version. Invite a friend, bring the kids, explore somewhere new, and let yourself see Marion through fresh eyes. When we show up for the places that make our town special, we’re not only having a fun day out, but also shaping the kind of community we all want to belong to. Let’s keep writing that story together, one local adventure at a time.
I’d love to hear from you after you try out some new places!
Better Together,
Luke Henry Col 3:23
