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American Restoration did not end with Rick Dale and his crew receiving a conventional farewell. The History series changed its entire format for its final season, replacing Rick’s Las Vegas shop with five other restoration businesses. By the time the show concluded on April 1, 2016, the original cast had already disappeared from the center of the program.
Since then, the cast members have taken very different paths. Rick Dale’s former shop is now closed, Kelly Dale has continued in real estate and custom products, Tyler Dale remains involved in automotive projects, and Brettly Otterman has built a commercial surface-restoration business. The later lives of several other crew members, however, are not well documented—and many online claims about them cannot be verified.
Why the original cast vanished before the finale
American Restoration premiered on October 25, 2010. Its original premise was straightforward: viewers followed Rick Dale and the employees of Rick’s Restorations in Las Vegas as they repaired, rebuilt, and refinished vintage signs, cars, vending machines, amusement pieces, and other Americana.
That format changed dramatically in Season 7. Instead of continuing the Rick Dale storyline, History presented episodes centered on five different restoration shops. The businesses were associated with Bodie Stroud, Dale Walksler, Andy Bowman Jr., Steve Hale, and Bob Halliday. Rick and his original crew were therefore no longer the central cast when the series reached its April 2016 conclusion.
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This explains why the show can feel as if it ended abruptly. The final season was not a traditional continuation of the earlier series, and it did not provide a detailed on-screen account of what happened to each member of the Dale team.
Rick Dale moved away from the television-sized shop
Rick Dale was the face of American Restoration and the owner of Rick’s Restorations, the Las Vegas business that supplied the show with its setting and much of its identity.
That shop is no longer operating as the business viewers knew from television. A November 2025 report from the Las Vegas Advisor stated that Rick’s Restorations had closed permanently, although it did not establish the exact date of closure.
After the series, Dale’s work became associated with smaller creative and fabrication projects rather than the large restoration operation seen on History. He and his wife, Kelly Dale, have been connected with My Best Font Forward, a Las Vegas business that produces laser-cut décor, personalized gifts, embroidery, and related products. A 2021 profile by Full Spectrum Laser identified Kelly as the owner and operator and described Rick’s involvement with the laser work.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallDale also published Classic Soda Machines in 2014, while American Restoration was still on the air.
Was Rick Dale fired?
There is no reliable public statement confirming that Rick Dale was formally fired, rejected a specific multimillion-dollar contract, or had a documented dispute with History executives. Those stories circulate online, but they should not be presented as established facts without a statement from Dale, History, or the production company.
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Kelly Dale continued with business and real estate
Kelly Dale handled much of the business side of Rick’s Restorations during the original series. Her responsibilities included finances, purchasing, payroll, and customer relations—work that kept the restoration shop functioning even when the television episodes focused on dramatic rebuilds.
Following the show, Kelly continued working in real estate and became associated with My Best Font Forward. The business combines personalized products with laser cutting and embroidery, giving the Dales a smaller-scale creative outlet after the closure of Rick’s Restorations.
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Tyler Dale stayed involved in automotive projects
Tyler Dale, Rick’s son, was one of the younger members of the original crew. On the show, he learned restoration and fabrication work while taking on increasingly demanding projects.
Tyler has continued working on vehicles and restoration-related projects, but there is no verified evidence that he took over Rick’s former Las Vegas shop as a functioning replacement for the business seen on television.
A feature published by Restomod Air and Restomod Films on April 29, 2026, discussed Tyler’s current work and showed his long-term project: a 1965 Ford F-100 that he had owned since high school. The truck had been worked on between other obligations rather than completed as part of a new television operation.
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The most defensible description of Tyler’s life after American Restoration is that he remains involved in hands-on automotive and fabrication work while maintaining a much lower public profile. The available reporting does not establish that he runs a new version of Rick’s Restorations.
Brettly Otterman built a separate restoration business
Brettly Otterman was Kelly Dale’s son and Rick Dale’s stepson. His work on American Restoration connected him with the practical side of cleaning, stripping, and preparing old objects for restoration.
Today, business records and professional listings identify Otterman as the owner of Clean Works Mobile Media Blasting in the Las Vegas area. The company handles media blasting, surface preparation, graffiti removal, industrial cleaning, and restoration work.
Otterman is also associated with Las Vegas Dry Ice Blasting. His professional profile describes work involving industrial machinery, architectural surfaces, vehicles, and historic or decorative objects.
That career is related to what viewers saw on the show, especially the removal of rust, paint, and grime. It is nevertheless a separate commercial mobile-blasting operation—not the reopening of Rick’s Restorations.
What became of the other original crew members?
The available public record becomes much thinner once the discussion moves beyond the Dale family and Brettly Otterman. Several crew members were recognizable to viewers, but recent, authoritative information about their work and whereabouts is limited.
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| Cast member | Role on the show | What can be verified now |
|---|---|---|
| Ron Dale | Rick’s younger brother; picker and delivery worker | There is not enough reliable current information to state what he does today. |
| Kevin “Kowboy” Lowery | Metal polishing and woodworking | His current occupation and whereabouts have not been reliably documented. |
| Kyle Astorga | Disassembly, reassembly, and finishing work | No sufficiently reliable current source confirms his occupation or location. |
Ron Dale
Ron Dale appeared as a picker and delivery worker. Some entertainment websites claim that he later built custom bicycles or held a particular job in the Las Vegas area, but those accounts lack support from a current official business profile, direct interview, or comparable primary source. His present career should therefore be treated as undocumented rather than guessed.
Kevin “Kowboy” Lowery
Lowery was known for polishing metal and doing woodworking at Rick’s Restorations. Claims that he is retired, lives in a specific place, or moved into a particular trade have not been reliably confirmed in recent public sources.
Kyle Astorga
Astorga worked on taking restorations apart, putting them back together, and completing finishing work. Articles sometimes claim that he became a professional hunter or outfitter, but there is no sufficiently authoritative source confirming that account. It should not be reported as fact.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened to Rick’s Restorations?
The shop’s television identity ended when History changed the format of American Restoration for Season 7. The physical business later closed permanently, according to the November 2025 Las Vegas Advisor report.
That closure does not mean every member of the family stopped working with tools, vehicles, or creative production. Rick and Kelly remained connected with custom fabrication and personalized products, Tyler continued automotive projects, and Brettly developed his own mobile blasting company. But none of those activities represents a continuation of the original shop as a long-running television business.
The cast’s post-show story is quieter than the series
American Restoration turned ordinary workshop jobs into television events, which made the cast’s later low profile seem unusual. In reality, the available evidence points to a gradual dispersal rather than one dramatic public break.
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Rick Dale moved toward smaller creative work after the closure of the shop. Kelly continued in real estate and custom products. Tyler kept working on vehicles, while Brettly turned restoration-adjacent skills into a mobile industrial service. The remaining crew members may have continued private careers, but reliable public information about them is scarce.
That distinction matters. A lack of online information is not proof that someone left the trade, retired, or experienced a dramatic personal change. For several members of the original cast, the accurate answer is simply that their current lives have not been publicly documented well enough to say more.
FAQ
When did American Restoration end?
The series premiered on October 25, 2010, and concluded on April 1, 2016. Its final season used a different format and followed five other restoration businesses instead of Rick Dale’s Las Vegas shop.
Is Rick’s Restorations still open?
No. A November 2025 report from the Las Vegas Advisor stated that Rick’s Restorations had closed permanently, although it did not provide an exact closure date.
What does Tyler Dale do now?
Tyler Dale remains involved in automotive and fabrication projects. A 2026 Restomod Air feature discussed his long-term 1965 Ford F-100 project, but there is no verified evidence that he operates a replacement for Rick’s Restorations.
What happened to Brettly Otterman?
Otterman moved into commercial surface restoration. He is identified as the owner of Clean Works Mobile Media Blasting in the Las Vegas area and is also associated with Las Vegas Dry Ice Blasting.
The Bottom Line
The original American Restoration crew did not reunite for another long-running show. Rick Dale’s former shop closed, while Rick and Kelly Dale shifted toward smaller creative and business projects. Tyler Dale continued automotive work, and Brettly Otterman established a separate mobile-blasting company. The current lives of Ron Dale, Kevin “Kowboy” Lowery, and Kyle Astorga are not reliably documented, so popular online claims about them should be treated cautiously.
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