Big Al’s Superstore

This is such a unique store. Every time I go there there is something new. The items are dusty, things are piled on top of each other, and it smells like old furniture but TRUST ME there are some great gems that you don’t want to miss! I’ve only bought from there once but I was able to find something that I love and looks great in my home! Also I got a lot of help from Jay. He and I came to a great price for what I got– a detachable wood & brass end table and an asymmetrical slab of marble (about 70 lbs). I ended up creating my own end table out oh those pieces for $ 40 (check the photo). You have to have an creative eye to shop at this place. If you are into DIY projects and a good deal then this might be the place for you.

If you’re not as pretentious as some of the other reviewers (have you all been in a real antique store before?), you could easily see past the clutter and find some very nice pieces.

I’ve driven by this place at least a hundred times since I moved to Indy 5 years ago, but until a few weeks ago, I’d never been inside. I was really excited to be going finally because they always have the greatest looking things outside in the warmer months: funky, retro chairs and tables and décor that look like they’re right up my alley. Imagine my disappointment when I finally went in and found that the store, front to back is one big unshoppable mess.
Don’t get me wrong, there may have been lots of really great things to buy inside. But the problem was that I couldn’t get to them! There is literally a narrow path stretching from the front of the store to the back of the store, and on either side of that path is a wall of stuff preventing you from even being able to see about 75% of the merchandise! I really would have loved to browse their selection and find some cool new furniture for my new place, if only I could have GOTTEN TO IT without having to climb over a sea of precarious piled THINGS strewn EVERYWHERE without any attempt to make it browsable!
Needless to say, I was really disappointed with how poorly Big Al’s was set up… or rather how much it was not set up at all. Please organize your stuff, Big Al, and make this more than just a hoarder’s den! Some of us would love to buy from you if we could only see what on earth you even HAVE!

No heat. I assume no AC in the summer. Fine. Just plan accordingly.
Today was my second time there. I found something I really (really) wanted. I was walking with it, still browsing. One of the guys that works there asked what I found, I showed it to him. He asked where I found it, I told him. «Oh, he’s keeping that. It isn’t for sale.» How in the world would I know? The entire store is one big pile of junk. How do you differentiate what junk is for sale vs what junk ISN’T for sale? I wasn’t in an area that was marked Private. I just found it wading through the narrow «path» of the store.
I won’t be back. So disappointed.

I am a regular here, but I give it 3 stars for a few reasons.
1: it smells weird
2: it is creepy
So the three stars are for decent inventory and thrift store prices. To date, I have purchased a buffet, very much in need of a refurb.
The owner is nice and he negotiates.
If I expected more, I’d go to Restoration Hardware. He fills a need… happy hunting.

Do tell, Big Al… do you ever really sell anything anyway? So there you are with your Big Al Squad, every single day schlepping amazing porch rockers and cigar store chiefs & totems and retro toasters… yet… I’ve never heard nor seen nor was I successful in my attempt to buy something… so do tell Big Al… are you what they call… a hoarder?
Secret no longer… I am in love with this place… why? Because, I’m pretty sure Big Al (or the guy that kicks it here) just has this location to, well, kick it! In earnest, I stopped by to decorate my new place… and I found something… an old portrait of an old anon. woman… I wanted it… I offered and was denied. But I was happy about it, why? How? Because… I just enjoyed my time here… and I caught on pretty quickly that none of this really cool stuff (other than maybe the computer monitor for $ 25!?) would ever sell.
I feel like it should be an underground party spot. Like Big Al sells PBR out of styrofoam coolers or old fridges between 1 & 4pm on Thursdays… and that’s it.
I mean, every single day I drive by this place… and just want to hang out with all the old cool stuff and talk to Big Al about baseball. (and kudos to him for calling me out before saying hello: «So you really a Dodger fan or are you just wearing the hat?» «Oh Big Al I’m a Dodger fan allright. I’m a fan of you!»)
Maybe this is his catharsis for being such a hoarder… «I know the ticket, doc! I’ll rent out a store and seem like I sell stuff… maybe I will, maybe I won’t, but it’s most definitely a store!»
Should we just all show up with backpacks of beer, offer Big Al some suds & play the make-​believe bartyr-​ing game?
Could be fun! That’s what this place is… FUN.

«Superstore» seems like a pretty ambitious name for this place, but I guess it has a nicer ring to it than «Big Al’s Bizarre Collection of Crazy Crap That No One Wants.» I have to wonder where these people find their merchandise. I wish I could even begin to describe everything that’s in here, but let me take a shot. An old washing machine. A used organ. A pair of «no smoking» and «smoking area» signs, displaying a nice, normal cigarette for the smoking area and cigarette tied in knots to represent no smoking (huh?). A porcelain figurine of one of the Daughters of the Revolution, or something. An Egyptian-​looking mirror that’s actually kind of cool. End tables fashioned after stubbed-​out cigarettes. (The cigarette theme is big, as you can see.) Some battered furniture. Outdated china. You get the idea.
The shop itself seems worn down, but at least the guy working here seems chipper. Actually, there were two – one barely acknowledged me when I came in (which I appreciate, actually) and the other was cheerful and talkative once he saw me, but not in an annoying fashion.
I really can’t imagine buying anything here. It might be the weirdest collection of stuff I’ve ever witnessed in this country. It’s worth stopping in to gape at the oddity, though.

What you see is what you get at Big Al’s Superstore. Need a Nordicktrack treadmill for $ 199 («like new!»)? How ’bout some old furniture? That huge mannequin of a pirate dangling in the window? It’d make a great addition to your game room, right by the shark chalkboard for cricket scores – also available here!
The selection of things that «must go» here are pretty sketchy, but sometimes you can find something that’s just kitchy enough to suit your design needs. Or maybe you’re a poor history major in college, and that caricature bust of Napoleon is just what you need to get you through finals. Bargaining seems welcome here.