Shocking News! reveals plans to revamp American Pickers star’s shop and feature bike display after.
Shocking News! reveals plans to revamp American Pickers star’s shop and feature bike display after.
All for Frank: Frank Fritz’s store owner reveals plans to revamp the American Pickers star’s shop and feature a display after his death.
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Frank passed away on September 30 at the age of 60, two years after suffering a debilitating stroke. The American Pickers star’s antique store, Frank Fritz Finds, is located in the back room of Jerry Gendro’s bar, Hog Dogs, in Savannah, Illinois. In an exclusive interview with the US Sun, Jerry revealed his plans to revamp the store in honor of his late friend.
Jerry told the US Sun, “We have been an antique store for 35 years. We’ll probably continue to be that. We may display motorcycles and choppers that represent Frank. Right now, it’s set up as an 1880s general store. Maybe they’ll be bikes on a rack all the way down the center. We’re trying to contemplate what other people want me to do.”
Frank Fritz Finds sells small antiques, from $35 oil cans to a $30 vintage typewriter. The US Sun previously reported estimated annual sales of just $225,000 per experience business valuation report for Frank Fritz Finds. Photos obtained by the US Sun showed the conditions of Frank’s store: in one photo, a thick spider web lingered in a corner with bugs trapped in the silk; dust, dirt, and dead leaves were collecting on the rundown floorboards. There were also gaping holes in the uneven floor paneling, and paint chips were curling off the ceiling.
Despite the dim lighting in the shop, dust was still visible and gathering on several items. Frank wasn’t as involved in the business after he suffered the stroke in July 2022 at his Davenport, Iowa home. Frank’s friends filed an emergency appointment of a temporary guardian and conservator for the star on August 18, claiming his decision-making capacity was so impaired from the stroke.
The conservatorship papers obtained by the US Sun revealed plans for the store during his health battle. The initial plan filed by conservator MidwestOne Bank read: “Mr. Fritz is a well-known collector and has numerous outbuildings full of valuable collections.” The conservator has not yet inventoried those items but plans to leave them largely as they are now, with the exception of stocking Mr. Fritz’s antique store in Savannah as needed. The conservator is hopeful Frank will be able to participate in the selection and pricing of items as he did previously.
He struggles: the stroke left Frank wheelchair-bound. He can walk, but he’s always going to need the wheelchair because he can’t walk long distances. A source previously told the US Sun in August 2023, “Basically, you lose motion. He lost motion. A stroke can affect your left or your right side; it affected his right side.”
Jerry previously gave insight into Frank’s health struggles in recent months. “He felt really, really bad,” he told the US Sun. “You would go to see him in the nursing home, and one half of his body was completely done. He would lift his arm up, and it would just drop. That’s got to be tough to be totally bedridden.”
Jerry explained how Frank grew frustrated because he couldn’t come out and say what he wanted to say. “Though some days were much, much better than others, I’ve seen this when people get tired. I think if you don’t have the will to live, you won’t,” Jerry said. “I think Frank could have lived a lot longer if the will to live would have been there.”
Leaving Pickers: Frank left American Pickers in 2020 to undergo back surgery but never returned, as he was officially let go in 2021. Frank revealed his feud with co-star Mike during an interview with the US Sun in 2021. Mike and Frank ended their feud during his health issues and reunited over Memorial Day weekend of 2023. Mike was by his side in hospice when he passed, along with other loved ones.
Plans: Jerry previously told the US Sun how loved ones will honor the star’s final wish to keep his memory alive. “My understanding at this point—this was his will—he wanted to come on the back of a motorcycle or in a sidecar with his ashes in it, with a big ride and go back to the Quad Cities.” Frank’s final ride through the Quad Cities, which is a region of four cities in Iowa and Illinois, would take place in the spring. “We’ll do anything we can for him,” Jerry said. “That’s what he really wanted to do.”
Frank’s conservator, Chris Davis, also revealed memorial plans for his beloved friend. He previously told the US Sun, “There will be a celebration of life in the future. It will be big; fans can attend. We already have several bands who want to play in it, including my band.”
Frank would have turned 61 on…