SUPERIOR — A visit to the Superior Pickers storefront offers a peek into the past. The business, which opened June 3 at 1213 Tower Ave., stocks an array of antique items as well as curiosities to ponder, from a giant golden ear to a carousel horse.
In addition to an exterior door, Superior Pickers has an interior entrance off the Androy Hotel lobby, which explains the selection of Androy Hotel postcards and neon plastic cups displayed in a rack by the door. Owner Jake Regner pointed out the neon beer signs, cast iron grates and other Androy originals.
“A lot of this comes out of the Androy,” said Regner, whose parents used to own the hotel.
Other items, such as a recorder (instrument) decorated with fish bones and snakeskin, were found while combing through area estate sales, garage sales and auctions.
“I go out and actively look for certain things, too. So if it’s something, I try to fit that antique, vintage, like over 30 years old … and then unique stuff, handmade stuff,” Regner said.
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There were consignment pieces, as well, including vintage typewriters and a porcelain teacup with a face etched into the base. Turn the empty cup up toward the light, and the face is revealed.
The shop carried a rocking chair built in Superior’s Webster Chair Factory. A selection of VHS tapes were available, as well as working VHS players, $10 apiece. Some of the best sellers at Superior Pickers have been the records and binoculars, Regner said.
Business at the store has been seasonal.
“I think in the wintertime we have mostly like people from the local area, maybe from the Twin Cities. In the summertime, you do get quite a few tourists, especially if they’re staying in the hotel,” Regner said.
Like the vintage records the store has in stock, the business also has a flip side — building motorized cruiser bikes with 50, 80 or 100 cubic centimeter motors.
“Right now I’m getting brand new bikes, putting a brand new motor kit on them,” Regner said.
In addition to building the bikes for customers, the business offers custom paint jobs. He brought out a bike with a 100 cc motor on it to demonstrate.
“This is pretty big. You’ll be moving on something like this,” Regner said. “Of course, you don’t have to go that fast.”
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The bike’s two-stroke engine, which is hooked up to a three-quarter gallon tank, can get 75 to 120 miles per gallon.
“This one tank will go forever,” Regner said.
The interest in motorized bicycles was sparked when the family found two for sale at an auction. They sold right away, Regner said, but used bikes can have mechanical issues that need to be fixed. To prevent future problems, the bikes are assembled new at the shop.
“This is still kind of a new thing,” Regner said. "We’ve made a handful of them, and we’ve sold them.”
Anyone interested in having the business build a motorized cruiser bicycle for them can contact Superior Pickers at 218-343-0832, email linkzonejake@gmail.com. The shop is open from noon to 6 p.m Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Wednesdays by appointment. Visit the Superior Pickers website or Facebook page for more information.
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