A vintage Esso gas station on West 7th Street in Columbia, Tennessee sat empty for years before Mike Wolfe bought it in September 2022. On May 28, 2025, he stood in front of the restored structure and announced Revival, a wine bar and community space that now anchors the city’s downtown revival.
The American Pickers host has spent over $1.5 million purchasing and restoring historic buildings in Columbia since 2017. His mike wolfe passion project has transformed a struggling downtown into a destination, proving one person can reverse decades of small-town decline without government funding.
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Four Buildings, One Vision
Wolfe’s Columbia portfolio started with Columbia Motor Alley in November 2017. He paid $400,000 for the former 1947 Chevrolet dealership and converted the 13,440-square-foot space into a motorcycle museum and event venue.
The Revival project tested his commitment. After buying the 1940s Esso station for $600,000, he poured $38,630 into renovations: a cedar pergola, fire pit, outdoor stage, custom wood shelving, and a red neon sign crafted by local artisans. Then the property failed fire and gas inspections in 2023, delaying the opening by over a year.
Wolfe pushed through the code violations and structural repairs. By mid-2025, Revival passed inspection and opened with outdoor seating, live music, and a full bar menu.
His biggest gamble sits a few blocks away. The 1873 Italianate mansion cost $700,000, then demanded another $200,000 to rebuild the missing tower and cupola based on century-old photographs. Workers are still restoring original windows and porches, with completion expected in late 2025.
The Two Lanes Guesthouse, housed in an 1857 building that Wolfe purchased for $464,400, now operates as a vacation rental. Guests sleep surrounded by antiques from the show and wake to views of the 1905 courthouse.
Money Flows Beyond Main Street
Wolfe runs the Two Lanes lifestyle brand from his restoration work. The website sells American-made goods and publishes stories about roadside Americana, but the real impact happens quarterly when he distributes micro-grants to traditional craftspeople.
Blacksmiths, sign painters, neon benders, and leather workers receive checks between $2,000 and $10,000. No applications. No committees. Wolfe picks artisans whose work he respects and wires the money directly.
Recipients get featured on the Two Lanes platform, driving customers to their workshops. When a Montana blacksmith appeared on the site, orders jumped 300% in the following weeks.
September Crash Nearly Derailed Everything
On September 12, 2025, Wolfe was driving his vintage Porsche 356 through Columbia with girlfriend Leticia Cline when a drunk driver pulled from a side street. The collision sent both to the hospital.
Wolfe suffered a broken nose, facial lacerations requiring stitches, and heavy bruising. He walked out the next day. Cline spent four days hospitalized with a jaw broken in three places, broken sternum, broken ribs, collapsed lung, and spinal bruising. Surgeons wired her jaw shut on September 22.
The driver, 76-year-old Lerone Heads, faces charges of DUI, vehicular assault, and failure to yield resulting in serious bodily injury. Cline appeared in court in December 2025 to deliver her victim statement.
By late December, both had recovered enough for Wolfe to return to filming American Pickers Season 27, which airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on History Channel. The season’s final episodes are running through January 2026.
TV Career Shifts to Match Preservation Goals
Wolfe closed his Nashville Antique Archaeology store on April 27, 2025 after 15 years. The decision let him focus on Columbia projects and family time with his 13-year-old daughter, Charlie. His original Le Claire, Iowa location stays open.
American Pickers will take its first hiatus in 15 years after Season 27 wraps. The break coincides with production on Wolfe’s new History Channel series, “History’s Greatest Picks With Mike Wolfe,” which began filming in fall 2025 for a 2026 premiere.
The new show explores legendary artifacts and treasures from history, moving away from the barn-picking format that made him famous.
Columbia Sees Real Economic Returns
Property values in Columbia’s downtown historic district have climbed since Wolfe began buying buildings in 2017. New businesses opened near his properties, and tourist traffic increased measurably.
The Two Lanes Guesthouse stays booked most weekends. Revival draws locals and visitors who spend money at nearby restaurants and shops. Columbia Motor Alley hosts private events and motorcycle gatherings that fill downtown parking.
The city earned designation as one of Tennessee’s first Main Street Communities, with its commercial historic district joining the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Wolfe’s investments built on that preservation foundation.
Why One Guy With Cash Matters
Wolfe started picking antiques at age six in Bettendorf, Iowa, riding his bike down two-lane roads looking for stories. American Pickers premiered in January 2010 and turned that childhood hobby into a 15-year television run.
But he watched the buildings disappear faster than the objects inside them. Small-town downtowns collapsed across America as highway bypasses and big-box stores pulled commerce away from historic main streets.
His solution was direct: buy the buildings, restore them properly, and fill them with businesses that serve the community. No grants. No tax incentives. Just private money spent on public benefit.
“When I purchased this Esso station in downtown Columbia TN, I knew that I was going to need a company that could match my passion and bring this place to life,” Wolfe wrote on Instagram when Revival opened.
What Happens Next
The Italianate mansion restoration continues through 2025. Revival is open for business. The guesthouse takes reservations. Columbia Motor Alley hosts events.
Wolfe hasn’t announced additional building purchases, but his pattern suggests more properties are coming. He spots neglected structures the same way he spots valuable antiques, seeing potential where others see demolition candidates.
His work in Columbia provides a blueprint other preservationists study: private investment, community benefit, sustainable business models, and respect for architectural history. The mike wolfe passion project proves saving America’s downtowns doesn’t require government programs or nonprofit campaigns. Sometimes it just takes someone willing to write the checks and do the work.
