How a man's love of Cincinnati basements got him a seat in a Robert De Niro film
The "hidden gem," as owner Jeff Molski described it, is home to some of the most unique mid-century vintage pieces from the 1950s and 1960s. Whether you're window shopping or looking to strike up a conversation, Molski and his one-and-only coworker (a sweet grey cat named Joe Purrow) will be at your beck and call.
Molski always had a love for mid-century-styled furniture, but he never imagined himself making a career out of restoring it. What started as a weekend hobby quickly grew into a full-fledged business, and Molski, who has since retired from healthcare sales, couldn't be happier to spend his weekends hunting and restoring vintage pieces.
The 61-year-old gives a new life to each vintage piece entering his store, located at 6105 Madison Road, and in a way, they breathe a new life, story and memory into him.
"I love it," he said. "I'm busier now than I've ever been, but it's just so much fun and I love meeting and talking to people."
Molski left the corporate world for his vintage adventure and never looked back
Molski was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in the Chicago suburbs before moving to Cincinnati, where he attended Miami University in 1986. After college, he worked in "the corporate world" for about 30 years before he turned his passion hobby into a full-time gig nearly six years ago.
"I started this as a side hustle about nine years ago," he said. "I still remember when it all started. I was with my daughter in Goodwill and she was looking for vintage clothes when I happened to see an old chair that needed to be restored."
He thought about how he needed something to do that weekend and purchased the chair for $5. He brought the chair home and restored it before selling it online.
"I think (I sold it on) Craigslist back then, and it sold for $75, $80, and I’m like, 'That was kind of fun,'" he said.
From that moment forward, Molski has had a knack for fixing vintage mid-century pieces, posting each "rescued" piece on Instagram (his real storefront) as he goes.
Molski created his Instagram account (@midcenturymodernrescue) when he decided to pursue his hobby as a full-time gig, right around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He credited his children with helping set up his social media accounts, but when it comes to taking pictures, posting and writing captions for each vintage piece – that's all Molski.
The account has now surpassed 15,000 followers.
'I've always been very handy'
So where did his interest come from? Has he always been a fixer-upper?
"I've always been very handy," he said, adding that a lot of his work consisted of home improvement projects, "just kind of tinkering and learning how to do things."
Take a look inside Mid-Century Modern Rescue, a vintage store owned by Jeff Molski. The hidden gem is located in Madisonville.
Molksi said his father wasn’t very handy growing up, so he’s "pretty much self-taught," but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves challenging himself and figuring out the best ways to make each vintage piece that enters his store look brand new.
And in some ways, it helps the environment.
"I feel like I’m doing my small part for the environment, too, because a lot of this stuff probably would have ended up in the landfill if I hadn’t stepped in and seen what it is and what it could be," he said.
While Molski has rescued thousands of mid-century pieces over the years, he can't always purchase every vintage piece he finds. He has to be meticulous about which items he brings back to the shop.
"If something is too far gone, I typically will have to pass on it just because I know how much time it’ll take (and) I can’t really devote a ton of time to a project if it’s going to take a couple of weeks to do it," he said.
From repainting vintage refrigerators to adding shelves in old juice dispenser machines and jukeboxes, his workshop is a work of wonders. However, there’s one vintage piece he can restore in no time. In fact, he has it down to a science: sunburst clocks.
"I’ve gotten pretty good at restoring (those), and I can do those fairly quickly when I have the parts," he said, adding that he’s probably restored about 100 of them.
Just like the rest of us, if Molski doesn’t know how to restore something, he looks to YouTube.
"It’s fun. It’s fun figuring things out."
His vintage finds featured in Robert De Niro's 'Alto Knights' film, led to friendship with 'American Pickers'
Molski said he’s been very fortunate in his vintage journey. Since starting Mid-Century Modern Rescue, he’s worked with interior designers, become friends with the American Pickers and even had his furniture featured in the 2025 Robert De Niro film, "Alto Knights," which was filmed in parts of Cincinnati.
Molski said the movie crew came in and bought "a bunch of little stuff," such as lampshades, antique radios and things of that nature. However, one of his items, a green reading chair, was featured in the movie with De Niro sitting in it.
As if seeing your work in a movie wasn't cool enough, Molski has actually formed a relationship with Robert Wolfe, the younger brother and partner of Mike Wolfe of "American Pickers."
Molski bought a van from Robert. Not for restoration purposes, as he declared he "doesn’t know anything mechanically." He just thought the car was cool.
"I bought a 1968 van from Robbie on the show. ... He had it on Instagram. So, I sent him a message asking if he was selling the van, and he sent me a message back," he said.
And the rest is history.
"Sure enough, he just rolls up in front of my building, unloads the van from a trailer and we talked for about an hour," Molski said. Now, whenever he’s looking for a car to buy, he’ll send Robert a message, and he’ll let him know if it’s worth pursuing or not.
"(Molski) loves the retro stuff," Wolfe said. "And that's a hot market right now, and he's been in it for a long time, but it continues to grow."
Molski's thrifting has led him to nearly every Cincinnati neighborhood
Restoring vintage furniture is no easy task. How do you even find furniture from the 1950s and 1960s? Molski has his own method to the madness.
When he first began his restoration business, he would take "little day trips" or an overnight trip within a 5-hour radius to scour homes and old buildings for anything in need of "rescue."
"But now, since I’ve built up a network, I just travel, typically no more than two hours away," he said, adding that for some odd reason, he finds a lot of his vintage pieces in Dayton.
Despite Dayton being a hub for mid-century furniture, Molski said he's been to nearly every one of Cincinnati's 52 neighborhoods.
Take a look inside Mid-Century Modern Rescue, a vintage store owned by Jeff Molski. The hidden gem is located in Madisonville.
Molski said that, without fail, there is always a neighborhood with that one 90-year-old neighbor whose house has stood the test of time, remaining nearly unchanged since they first moved in.
That’s where the hidden treasures are usually found.
Molski said that when he enters someone's home, he wants to look at everything. That's the fun part for him. The 61-year-old loves the hunt, and sifting through old belongings and hidden gems is what keeps him going.
"When I go into people's homes, I purchase items," he said, noting that he doesn't want to take little things off of people's hands (unless it's really cool).
Take a look inside Mid-Century Modern Rescue, a vintage store owned by Jeff Molski. The hidden gem is located in Madisonville.
Sometimes, though, the homeowners and their stories are truly the real treasure.
"I really appreciate people," he said. Molski also loves the forgotten and sometimes hidden parts of people's homes, as that’s where a lot of '50s and '60s-styled furniture and items are found.
"That generation, typically, didn’t throw things away. Especially those who lived through the Great Depression, where they just had to keep everything. So, I love basements. I love attics, I love garages," he shared. "I always asked to go to those places and I typically get the same response, 'Oh, it’s a mess, it’s a mess,' and I’m like, 'It’s a treasure trail, actually.'"
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How a man's love of Cincinnati basements got him a seat in a Robert De Niro film
