The name is a play on the childhood game, but there is nothing arbitrary about what Simons Says Antiques puts on its shelves in downtown Wahoo, Nebraska. Located at 153 East 5th Street, the shop describes its own inventory plainly: antiques, primitive pieces, sports collectibles, yard decor, and much more, a description that undersells just how much ground a single small-town storefront can cover on any given weekend.
Primitives are a particular strength of the shop’s mix, the roughly finished, functional pieces, farm tools, early kitchenware, painted furniture, that collectors specifically seek out for their worn, authentic character rather than polish or formality. Pairing that category with sports collectibles and yard decor gives Simons Says Antiques a broader customer base than a shop focused on just one niche, drawing in collectors chasing a specific vintage jersey or memorabilia piece alongside gardeners looking for a weathered iron planter or a piece of rustic outdoor decor for a porch or patio.
Wahoo itself is a small Saunders County town of a few thousand residents, roughly thirty miles west of Omaha, with a walkable historic downtown that makes a stop at Simons Says easy to pair with visits to the town’s other small businesses. The shop has built a strong local reputation in a short time, reflected in glowing customer reviews and a Facebook following that has grown past 1,100 people, unusually large for a town of Wahoo’s size and a sign that the shop draws shoppers well beyond its immediate neighborhood.
What distinguishes Simons Says from a larger antique mall is its scale and personality: this is a single proprietor’s curated selection rather than dozens of independent dealer booths, which means the mix reflects one set of eyes hunting estate sales, auctions, and private collections for pieces worth reselling. That curation shows up in customer feedback describing the shop as a place worth checking often, since inventory turns over with each new source the owner works through rather than sitting static on the shelves for months at a time.
For visitors planning a stop, the shop rewards browsing rather than a quick in-and-out errand; primitive furniture pieces, sports memorabilia cases, and yard and garden decor are spread through the space in a way that invites poking around corners rather than following a single obvious path through the merchandise. Collectors focused on early American primitives or regional sports memorabilia in particular will want to make Simons Says a regular check-in rather than a one-time visit, given how much the available stock can shift between trips.
Located in Wahoo’s historic downtown at 153 East 5th Street, Simons Says Antiques is a locally owned shop offering primitives, sports collectibles, yard decor, and a broad mix of general antiques, drawing steady praise from shoppers for its friendly service and constantly refreshed inventory.
