We’ve talked to Round Top Antiques Show insiders—vendors, designers, veteran shoppers, and bloggers—and collected their best tips for making your Round Top experience manageable and memorable. (Get your free map here.)

Our panel included: Paige and Smoot Hull, The Vintage Round Top; Anita Hill, Cedar Hill Farmhouse; Karly Woods, Gypsy Treasures; Susan Franks, Big Red Barn; Joe Pete Forcher, Joe Pete & Co.; Tara Suel, Marburger Farm Antique Show; and A. Nonymous Insider.

Round Top Texas Fried Chicken
Photo courtesy of Royer’s Cafe.

How to eat great at the Round Top Antiques Show
Lots of great options. Eat early (11ish) for lunch, or wait until after 1:00 to beat the lunch crowds.
Tara – Marburger Farm

Have fun and experiment with the range of foods and drink offered. A few of the best, in my opinion, and there are many: Texas Pizza Wagon’s (Warrenton) special four-course dinners served on real china (good pizza too); Cajun Flavor (Warrenton) food booth for genuine Cajun, including alligator; Texas Rose Cafe at the Texas Rose Show (Round Top) for really yummy and healthy food; Carmine Dance Hall for BBQ; Legal Tender Saloon (Warrenton) for amazing homemade sandwiches; Badd Co. Cooks (Warrenton) for breakfast taquitos on homemade tortillas; Susie Q’s Saloon (Oldenburg) for drinks in a unique setting; Joe’s Place (Fayetteville) for great food in a country setting and sports, Murphy’s (Winchester) for steaks. There are many more.
A. Nonymous Insider

Find Aunt Lou’s and eat there. It’s great homemade soul food. She sits in a small trailer near Zapp Hall. When the food is gone, it’s gone. Also save room for a huge ding dong from the Bake Shoppe.
Karly – Gypsy Treasures

Oh my gosh! Part of the experience of the show is Royers. Legal Tender is fantastic. There’s a guy who brews coffee in a French press out of a Volkswagen bug. Eating is just part of the whole experience….
Joe Pete – Joe Pete & Co.

[pullquote width=”300″ float=”left”]Round Top tip: Please remember, local restaurant staffs are working as hard and fast as they can to accommodate metro-sized crowds with country-sized kitchens. Be patient. Smile. And savor the flavors.[/pullquote]

During the show, Los Patrones manager Lizveth Galvan completely restructures restaurant operations with the needs of antiques shoppers in mind. Preparations, including scheduling extra staff and reworking seating plans, start six weeks in advance. She limits the menu to items such as quesadillas, burgers and enchiladas that can be made to order quickly, so customers can eat, enjoy and get back to treasure hunting.

The Pie Queen Tara Royer Steele and her crew at Royers Café and Royers Pie Haven make 2,000 pounds of pie crust during the three-week show, so the crowd can enjoy top-sellers like Sweet n’ Salty, JunkBerry, and Not My Mom’s Apple Pie. In 21 days, she and her staff spend 200 hours out of a possible 504 hours preparing food and taking care of people.

Check out our newsletter with updated information about foodie events during the show, as well as the specials our advertisers are offering.

How to create a signature style at the Round Top Antiques Show
To quote our authenticity adviser Don Cowan: “Does it make your heart sing? If so, buy it.” When your heart loves it, it will make sense in your space.
Tara – Marburger Farm

The single most important offering that Round Top, or any other flea market for that matter, has to offer is originality. You can find pieces large and small that will spark conversation with their story and provenance. Since you live in your home, be inspired to express your originality.
Paige and Smoot – The Vintage Round Top

A lot of my signature style was built with treasures I found at Round Top. It’s a great place to find one-of-a-kind pieces making it my not-so-secret weapon for vintage style.
Anita – Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Round-Top-TX- Antiques-Show-Cedar-Hill-Farmhouse
Photo courtesy of Cedar Hill Farmhouse.

How to get a good night’s sleep at the Round Top Antiques Show
Try to find lodging early, especially if you want a B&B or an inn experience. Then, if you plan to come regularly, lock it in for the next show—or the next year—by making a deposit before you go home. Most of our antiques show guests have been staying with us since we opened.
Paige and Smoot – The Vintage Round Top

Finding lodging in Round Top
With thousands of shoppers visiting a town with a population of 90, local lodging is a hot commodity.

[pullquote width=”300″ float=”left”]Round Top tip: Like several B&Bs on Facebook because sometime they announce cancellations on their pages.[/pullquote]

Start early. Fill out a request form on the Round Top Chamber of Commerce website (www.roundtop.org). The requester’s specifications will be sent to all the member B&Bs and home rentals. They will contact the requester directly if they have availability. Also, try VRBO, Homeaway, or google Round Top lodging.

Other good info sources are the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, the La Grange Chamber of Commerce, and the Carmine Chamber of Commerce. More nearby options include Brenham, Giddings and Columbus, which have hotels as well as inns, lodges and B&Bs.