MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — You never know what you might find at an antique sale. But the unique part of an antique sale in Mt. Juliet Friday wasn't what was for sale. It was where the sale took place.
"Have a decor front porch sale here at Mt. Juliet," said Joe Stewart, Manager of the Decor Warehouse for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.
It turns out, the Cracker Barrel in Mt. Juliet is getting a facelift, both inside and out, and just like when the rest of us renovate, the Cracker Barrel decided it was time for an old fashioned yard sale.
"We can get rid of a few pieces we’re no longer using," said Stewart. "We had around 600 to 700 pieces."
They sold out in just 35 minutes.
"We missed the first sale this morning completely," admitted Rhonda Winton, a shopper at the sale.
Luckily for Stewart, the decor items he had for sale hardly scraped the bottom of their pretty immense barrel.
"We’re going to try to find some more decor at our warehouse so we come back and sell some more," Stewart told us around 11:30 a.m.
By noon, his employees were back with two trucks of additional antiques. Those also quickly flew off the shelves.
"I’m guarding the pile while he goes and looks and finds the treasures," said Winton. "That’s the strategy today I guess."
Winton drove with her husband, all the way from Coffee County. She was hoping to find fun trinkets. Instead, she got a flood of fond memories.
"It’s an old picture word puzzle," she said about one find. "Oh, and this is a good sled for the wintertime."
But Rhonda's favorite find was a large wood saw that reminded her of her father.
"My daddy ran a logging business when I was a little girl," said Winton. "It just kind of brought back some nostalgia."
That, and she loves a good haggle.
"How about 3?" Winton countered, on a $5 antique egg carrier.
"3?" replied a Cracker Barrel employee. "Ah, you’re pecking me here. Alright $3."
Of course, the irony is this sale was started because Cracker Barrel didn't have enough space. When it came time for Rhonda to pack up her cramped Kia Soul, she could easily relate.
"We may have to buy a rope and put it on the luggage rack," she said with a laugh.
"The other thing is, the car’s a straight shift so we’ve got to be able to get to the gears."
Why is Cracker Barrel selling off treasures?
Joe Stewart says as Cracker Barrel gradually remodels their stores, they're looking to discontinue certain items like cigarette ads and farm equipment that may no longer have as much relevance to their customers.
Stewart says when the Mt. Juliet location reopens from a week of remodeling, they'll have new antiques on the wall with a little more color and reflect more cooking and food themes.
"We want the store to remind everyone of grandma's kitchen," said Stewart.
This is the first time Cracker Barrel has ever sold off their antique items like this. Stewart says they may consider doing it again when future stores remodel.
I LOVE Forrest's stories on the history of NewsChannel 5 as we celebrate our 70th anniversary. Here's a story I wasn't familiar with until recently. Eudora Boxley had a live cooking show in the early days of the station. She may have been the first black on air at NewsChannel 5 and perhaps, one of the first African Americans to have a TV cooking show anywhere in the country. It wasn't until her grandson reached out to me that I even heard of Ms. Boxley. Thankfully, I was able to connect him with Forest to learn more about this great nugget in NewsChannel 5 history.
-Lelan Statom
