American Pickers star Mike Wolfe has been working hard to renovate an entire town in Tennessee. While several residents are unhappy about the changes, Mike is investing thousands of dollars in the project, hoping to attract business and help the town grow. His latest mission was renovating a restaurant there.
Here is what Mike has done to a former winery in his new hometown.
Mike Wolfe Puts $38,000 Into Restaurant Remodel
Mike Wolfe has been investing heavily in remodeling and renovating businesses in his new hometown of Columbia, Tennessee. Several residents have complained because they believe he is turning their quiet country town into something very different. However, Mike is unconcerned and keeps updating the town’s businesses.
His latest mission involved purchasing a former winery. He has now invested $38,000 in renovating the business, which includes a pergola, firepit, stage, and more. This is in addition to his purchase and renovation of a bike shop and vacation rental location in Columbus. Mike paid $600,000 to buy the wine bar in 2022.
It appears he mainly remodeled the interiors, adding wooden shelves and molding and a door with windows on each side leading to another room (via The U.S. Sun). He filed the building permit on December 2 and did all this throughout the month. The permit said he would also add “Neon rooftop signage approved by Historic Zoning to replicate what was originally on the building.”
These Renovations Come After Failing Building Inspections
Mike Wolfe has been struggling with building inspections recently. He has been renovating his home there, returning it to how it looked when it was built. However, he faced some failed inspections there that he had to fix before moving forward. It seems the same thing happened with the wine bar.
The wine bar’s fire inspection failed in April 2024. Although several instructions were provided, the inspection failed again when the inspector returned in September. This meant more work for Mike and his team, but they finally passed the inspection in November. This permit cost Mike $17,730…