First came the plates. Then came the Saucer.
Flying Saucer owner Shannon Wynne didn’t know what to do with the plates he picked up while antiquing. That is, until he decided to open a bar and hang the plates wall-to-wall.
In 1995, the first Flying Saucer Draught Emporium opened in Fort Worth. Last Friday, the 11th location opened in Cordova, and Wynne hung all 1,500 plates himself.
“Believe it or not, there’s a right way and wrong way to hang the plates,” Wynne says. “A lot of calculation has to be done. You can’t have too much of one color in one place, and you want the ones with words close to the bottom so they can be read.”
Wynne buys plates from antique shops, estate sales, and souvenir stands, rarely paying more than $12 per plate. And he’s not picky. It’s not uncommon to see valuable collector plates hanging next to plates proclaiming “God Bless This Mobile Home.”
“There’s a plate for everything,” Wynne says. “I can show you a plate commemorating pregnant women, oceans, boats, nations, or capitals.”
