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‘American Pickers’: Where Are the Antique Stores Located?

The famous ‘American Pickers’ show may be about traveling cross country for treasures, but the show’s two antique stores cemented firmly at two locations, Iowa and Tennessee.

After 21 strong seasons, the show is gearing up for another season. The show will resume on Jan. 25, 2022.

Mike Wolfe started his first Antique Archaeology antique store in LeClaire, Iowa around 2000. While the town sits on the Mississippi River, Wolfe’s shop was once a fabrication shop. The site is also not too far from Wolfe’s hometown of Bettendorf. 

The store’s website boasts that the two-story shop is not only the home base of the show, but it has the best ‘picks’ and a new merchandise store. 

Wolfe’s second shop is in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The shop was once a former cotton mill and Marathon Motor Works car factory in the 1800s. It is located between Fiske and Tennessee State universities. The renovated building houses several businesses that have a home there. Opened in 2011, Wolke now lives in Leiper’s Fork near Franklin.

One local website went to the Nashville store and learned about the store’s pick system. There, items are grouped into three categories: Not for sale, Mike’s collection, and merchandise for sale.

In a 2014 Nashville Business Journal story, Mike Wolfe revealed that he was big into the Tennessee real estate scene with several buys. In the story, Wolfe said had spent $1.6 million on properties in that area.

Though these sites marry both antique stores and museums, Wolfe doesn’t spend much time in them. According to The Sun, Wolfe travels more than 70,000 a year, picking items for his stores.

With shows filmed months in advance, longtime co-host Frank Fritz left the show after a March 2020 episode.

‘American Pickers’ Stores and Its Characters

Wolfe and his show partner, Danielle Colby, were with the show from the beginning. He hired her as the shop manager for the series after coming up with the show idea. 

After a long run, co-host Frank Fritz left the show recently. Fritz and Wolfe drove together in the store van as part of the show’s simple storyline. Fritz reportedly left the show on bad terms with Wolfe, according to The Sun.

Amid tension, Fritz blamed a disconnect in the duo’s relationship and over the fame that came with the show. Fritz said he was more endearing to the show’s fans in a character role while Wolfe considered himself the frontman of the “band.” 

This week, the official “American Pickers” Instagram account posted a photo of Mike Wolfe, Danielle Colby, and Frank Fritz.

“I have known Frank for as long as I can remember, he’s been like a brother to me. The journey that Frank, Dani, and I started back in 2009, like all of life, has come with its highs and lows, blessings and challenges, but it has also been the most rewarding,” the caption reads, quoting Wolfe.

Wolfe wished Fritz well on the next part of his journey in the post.

The stores closed during the pandemic. For more information, visit the website at antiquearchaeology.com or call 563-265-3939.