PICKING ON FRANK American Pickers host Mike Wolfe shades ex-costar Frank Fritz in his Nashville antique store with new merchandise
PICKING ON FRANK American Pickers host Mike Wolfe shades ex-costar Frank Fritz in his Nashville antique store with new merchandise
AMERICAN Pickers host Mike Wolfe has subtly shaded his ex-costar Frank Fritz with new merchandise inside his Nashville antique store.
Mike, 58, owns Antique Archaeology with stores located in Le Claire, Iowa and Nashville, Tennessee.
Mike Wolfe subtly shaded his former co-star Frank Fritz with merchandise inside his Nashville store
Frank last appeared on the show in 2020 and was officially fired in 2021
The U.S. Sun has obtained exclusive photos of the merchandise inside his Nashville, Tennessee location.
In one photo obtained by The U.S. Sun, Mike promoted his History Channel show, American Pickers, by having a pamphlet that reads, “Pick the American Pickers store.”
The pamphlet featured a photo of just Mike, as his longtime co-host Frank Fritz, who was officially fired from the show in 2021, was not featured.
Mike was selling pins that read: “I picked the Antique Archaeology pickers.”
Frank, 57, owns a competing antique store called Frank Fritz Finds in Savannah, Illinois.
CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
The U.S. Sun previously reported Antique Archaeology in Iowa came under fire by customers for selling mainly merchandise instead of antiques.
Customers have complained about the Nashville store’s lack of collectibles as well.
One user wrote on Google reviews earlier this month: “If you’re interested in buying a piece there’s not a huge variety of items to choose from. Lots of merch from Antique Archaeology though. Everything is overpriced.”
A second complained: “The staff was friendly enough, however most everything in there was just merchandise that advertised Antique Archaeology.
“I wanted to see more of the stuff that the guys picked up around the country to sell and possibly make a purchase, but as there were very few items in there that would fit my needs.
“All I saw was the overpriced merchandise that advertised antique archeology.”
A third said: “Kind of disappointed… Mostly just merch for the show… Very few items to purchase, very expensive!”
The photos obtained by The U.S. Sun show the merchandise including pins, magnets, shot glasses, key chains, bumper stickers, shirts, hats, tote bags, mugs, glasses, thermometers, gloves, and more items.
The upcoming season of American Pickers with Mike, Robbie Wolfe, and Danielle Colby premieres on July 10.
He was selling pins that read: ‘I picked the Antique Archaeology pickers’
FRANK’S TOUGH TIME
Frank last appeared on American Pickers during a March 2020 episode, as he took time off to recover from back surgery, which left him with 185 stitches and two rods in his spine.
Frank, who was fired from the show, revealed his feud with co-star Mike during the 2021 interview with The U.S. Sun.
Frank said: “I haven’t talked to Mike in two years. He knew my back was messed up, but he didn’t call me up and ask how I was doing. That’s just how it is.
“The show is tilted towards him 1,000 percent. I can’t even bend that far down to show you how much.
“That’s fine. It’s like you’ve got Aerosmith and there’s Steven Tyler and he’s the frontman. I found my spot, I’m second and he’s number one on the show. That’s no problem with me, maybe he does have a problem.”
He even admitted: “I think Mike wants to get his brother Robbie in there to replace me. I don’t know why he’s behaving like that towards me.”
In July 2022, Frank suffered a stroke in his Iowa home.
Frank’s close friends filed an emergency appointment of a temporary guardian and conservator for the star on August 18, claiming his decision-making capacity was impaired from the stroke.
FRIENDS AGAIN
But a friend told The Quad-City Times that Frank and Mike had a tearful reunion over Memorial Day Weekend.
The pal said: “This was not a feud between Mike and Frank at all. They were not feuding. They needed separation to appreciate each other.”
The friend explained that the longtime buddies’ relationship became tense after 11 seasons of working 10-hour days, seven days a week on the reality TV show.
She informed the newspaper that Mike and Frank were both in tears during their long-awaited reunion.
The friend disclosed: “Both were crying … Mike brought up how nervous they both were to be going on David Letterman, which was one of their first big appearances.”
Mike told his former co-star: “Nobody can replace you, Frank,” while admitting that it was Frank’s “uniquely funny personality” that contributed to them working so well together for the 11 years they spent making the show.
The arrangements were made after Frank told the friend: “I need to talk to Mike,” so she called the TV personality on Mother’s Day to make the plans.
