photo by Chrissy Alspaugh
Antique Alley owner Andi Rogers Bartels.
Antique Alley
~ by Chrissy Alspaugh
The Brilliance Gallery Brown County Model Trains Brown County Pottery Brown County Weavery The Clay Purl Country Magic Denny’ s Magic and Fun Emporium The Ferguson House Bistro & Bar, Beer Garden, & Suites For Bare Feet The Lazy Possum Lolli’ s House Lumi Boutique My Sisters Shoppe Old McDurbin Gold & Gifts The Paint Box Plum Natural Wooden Wonders
Outdoor games, live music, and a new beer garden tempt visitors at Antique Alley to stay a while and check out shops that offer one-of-akind wares from working artists, specialty products, model trains, whimsical finds, and much more.
The complex is located in Nashville at the junction of Jefferson and Franklin Streets and along the alleys behind the Brown County Playhouse.
Property owner Andi Rogers Bartels said, ironically, one of the few things shoppers won’ t find in Antique Alley are— antiques.
Andi remembers the iconic antique shop at The Ferguson House when she was growing up.
“ It was a dark, scary place. If you talk to anybody who went in there, they’ ll tell you there were real skeletons inside. It was something!”
Continuing her family’ s legacy of bolstering business in Nashville is something, too.
Her father, prominent Nashville businessman Andy Rogers, who passed away in 2018 at age 87, owned the complex before her.
Rogers’ business holdings at various times included the Nashville House, the Brown County Inn, The Seasons Lodge and Conference Center, The Ordinary restaurant, and about two dozen retail shops he rented to others. He managed the Abe Martin Lodge and helped build banks in Nashville. When he died, the Brown County Democrat called him“ the man who built the business framework for Brown County.”
16 Our Brown County • Sept./ Oct. 2023 photo by Chrissy Alspaugh