The place to be in the Quad Cities late afternoon Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026 was 5th Ave. Flea, at 1405 5th Ave., Moline, which held its grand opening with a packed crowd in a packed two-story market.
Check-out lines to buy merchandise stretched deep into the diverse business nearly out the front door. The retro market (with everything from clothes, vinyl records, and books, to furniture, glasses and dishes) is the latest project from Bummer City, the same owners behind the two-year-old Take Cover Tiki Club next door.
Bummer City is a Quad Cities-based creative studio focused on creating favorite hangout spots. 5th Ave. Flea will bring a unique shopping experience to downtown, featuring interesting, affordable and hard-to-find vintage goods that give shoppers a chance to discover distinctive finds and one-of-a-kind treasures, according to Moline Centre.
The new business adds to downtown Moline’s growing mix of locally owned shops and destinations, offering residents and visitors another place to explore, shop and discover something unexpected. Its perfectly-timed opening also comes just ahead of the holiday shopping season, providing a new option for those looking to find unique gifts while supporting local businesses.
The market is in the building that previously housed Analog Moline (2019-2025), and briefly the country-western bar/restaurant Late Rider (from April 2025 to last fall).
Co-owner Dan Bush came up with the idea, because he and his wife had stuff they wanted to sell, “and I reached out to three of my favorite places in the Midwest and I couldn't get in. They were all waitlisted,” he said Thursday. “I was like, if my favorite places are waitlisted, maybe there's enough demand.”
Those are the Country Fair Mall in Coal Valley, Brass Armadillo in Des Moines, and Antiques on Pierce in Milwaukee. The latter is a four-story antique mall, with zero availability, Bush said. “So I kind of felt like, you know, there might be something there. So we started doing research,” he said of his Moline store, which features 58 vendors in over 60 spots, across 10,000 square feet of space.
Bush personally loves mid-20th-century modern art, furniture and décor. He’s selling his possessions in four booths.
“We put out an open call in early May and we got a lot of interest and we had to kind of be discerning and pick through it and figure out who we wanted to go with,” he said. “But the age range is what's interesting here because we have a lot of veterans and a lot of first-timers. So we have vendors who are in their early 20s and we have vendors who are in their mid-70s. We have a great range here, which I don't think the other places have.”
The vendors also represent a wide geographic area – from the QC, to Muscatine, Rock Falls, to Galesburg. 5th Ave. Flea just charges $3 a square foot plus 10% commission on sales. “So it's just very simple. It's almost like we're tiny landlords,” Bush said.
He is co-owner of the hospitality company Bummer City, Inc., which says its mission is to make the Quad Cities “as fun as humanely possible,” and in addition to the Take Cover Tiki Club, in downtown Davenport it owns Armored Gardens bar/restaurant and Devon’s Complaint Dept. bar. Its first business was Analog Arcade Bar in 2015 in downtown Davenport.
Bummer City is not in the bar and restaurant business, “but in the business of building your favorite hangout,” its website says. “Our philosophy is simple — we build spaces we want to hang out in, with the hopes that others do too.”
“We've been happy with most of our openings, but the first thing we opened was Analog One, and it really— there was really sort of a fever pitch, and this feels similar to that,” Bush said of 5th Ave. Flea. “We put a lot of thought into our environments, you know.”
“I think what this concept does is, I think it's only going to become more valuable over time because these goods are going to become more scarce,” he added of tapping into the retro, nostalgia vibe. “And I think that like we've entered into the era of mass-produced goods. And I think like this space, every time you come into it, will change.”
“So you could come a week or two later and there's going to be different stuff to look at,” Bush said of the vendors, who include local makers, artists and vintage collectors. “So I think that's really exciting.”
Happy vendors sing its praises
Aimee Ford, a Moline tattoo artist, has two booths here -- one more eclectic and fun finds, the other is a more fashion femme vibe.
‘I love thrifting and the art of the hunt. We have so much fast fashion and corporate box stores in the world now, I believe a lot of us are looking to and liking repurposing and reusing good quality items instead of the throw-away ‘what’s next’ from said box stores,” she said Thursday. “We also love to find memory pieces maybe you haven’t thought of since you were tiny or something your grandma had.
“To stumble upon a new love as well, like trinkets, mugs, rugs, candle sticks, etc.,” Ford said. “This thrift also has local handmade goods too! I am an artist as are both of my partners (Mollie and Emmalyn) in the booths, so you will also find art works of all media! I sold one of my paintings already and Emmalyn sold a fabric art piece collar! In the market there is also a Photo Booth, a photo wall, two fitting rooms, large restrooms, a bar area to enjoy a soda and relax, a patio!"
"There is just so much! The owners are also just easy-going, hard-working, and honest people, ya can’t beat that!”
Another vendor is Heather Bolon, owner and operator of Puff & Wick (on the second floor), a Galesburg–based brand specializing in up‑cycled vintage glass smokeware, hand‑poured soy candles, and ritual‑inspired goods with a witchy, retro aesthetic.
“I take vintage and antique decanters and vases, and then I repurpose and upcycle them, and I make functional smokeware out of them,” she said Thursday. “I also do candles, and I upcycle candy dishes and stuff. And then I make botanical art using the cannabis leaves from my own garden that I grow with pressed flowers. I do lighters to kind of give them like personality. And I just wanted to see what you guys were doing.”
“I have a couple friends I met through markets that are vendors. It's actually really cool to have that collective faith of friends,” Bolon said of 5th Ave. Flea. “I love it. I love the whole vibe. It's very cozy. It's very warm.”
An old-fashioned soda counter (the former bar) offers non-alcoholic drinks for sale, including cold-pressed coffee, soda, and kombucha. “Then we have the cocktail bar next door,” Bush said.
5th Ave. Flea will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 to 6 Thursdays, noon to 5 Sundays, and closed Tuesdays. For more information, visit its Facebook page HERE.
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