Local Business Featured In HGTV Renovation of ‘Ugliest House in America’

(KNSI) – Local businesses shined this week on a popular cable television show.

The “Barbie House” in St. Cloud was immortalized this week on HGTV by being named the ugliest house in America. A $150,000 renovation comes with the distinction, meaning the property is looking a bit different these days. Waite Park’s The Rusty Pick was one of the places that helped play a part in the change.

Owner Todd Scott of The Rusty Pick in Waite Park says reality television, at least in this case, was authentic. “Alison Victoria was just as bubbly, she was all over the store, she was very excited. What you see on the show is just what she was like here.”

Scott says you don’t get to appreciate on television the crew of about 12 people that run the cameras, lighting, and sound to capture designer Alison Victoria and host Retta’s trip to the store. A producer had initially shown interest in The Rusty Pick for a mantle but renovation crews went with a gas fireplace instead.

Grant Dossetto/KNSI News

They selected several smaller items, like a bathroom door, a flamingo yard decoration, and some interior pieces. Scott says the crew filmed for around 2.5 hours, which was distilled into maybe five minutes of the season finale.

Scott says everyone got together to see the final cut of the show this past Monday. “We had a viewing party on Monday night over at the House of Pizza, with a big group of us and some of our friends and some people that have sociated with the store. And it was just kind of, you know, a fun thing to do.”

Scott tells KNSI he has already seen an uptick in interest from the general public since the episode aired, mostly in online web traffic. The store’s first weekend since its newfound fame is a long holiday, which means there may be more customers than usual combing through the antiques at The Rusty Pick between now and Monday.