Imagine an antiques sale with 600 to 700 objects that draws a huge crowd, and in only a half-hour everything except seven things is sold. The sale is restocked and virtually sells out again. Amazing, right?
You could be excused for being skeptical of such a feeding frenzy, but according to Chris Davis, a reporter with WTVF in Nashville, Tennessee, it happened April 5. The interesting part is where.
The sale took place at a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, a location where chipped beef is more likely found than Chippendale.
Cracker Barrel is well known for decorating—some might say over-decorating—with both antiques and reproductions. Samuel Pennington, cofounder of Maine Antique Digest, used to quip, “Anything looks good on a restaurant wall.”
The sale was billed as a “décor front porch” sale by Joe Stewart, manager of the Decor Warehouse for Cracker Barrel, and it occurred because the restaurant is undergoing renovations inside and out.
We think the antiques market should pay attention. When people are exposed to antiques, they like them. They may not wonder—as we often do—who made it, why it was used, the time period, etc. That will come later—for now, these were things that struck a chord with the buyers.
We’re not psychologists, but there has to be some element of people being in an enjoyable moment—eating—and finding the antiques around them to be just as enjoyable. Comfort food and comfortable surroundings.
The trick the industry faces: how do we get more people to see what is available in the marketplace? How—other than offering country fried steak with a side of sweet tea—can the market achieve a higher level of democratization?
We think part of the answer is letting people see antiques in a variety of settings and locations. The Maine Antiques Dealers Association used to have a display in the annual Maine Flower Show. The Portland (Maine) International Jetport has a display cabinet full of decoys. One former dealer on Nantucket said he used to put high-end highboys out on his driveway, and curious people would stop in.
The wider the exposure, the bigger the appetite—and that would be all gravy.
Originally published in the May 2024 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2024 Maine Antique Digest
