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| The
Beginning |
| In 1875, Peter Merz,
a Chicago pharmacist, opened Merz Apothecary on the city's north side.
In a way, it was not much different than the other corner drugstores
which existed in every American neighborhood and town at the time.
It was a place to fill prescriptions and, more important, it was a
source of information and remedies for common ailments. The pharmacists
were consulted like family doctors and they would hand-mix formulas
for each customer's specific conditions and problems. |
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However, there was
a major difference between Merz's store and a typical drugstore. The
clientele at his shop consisted mainly of European immigrants from
the surrounding neighborhood. For that reason, and because Merz was
of Swiss descent, he decided to call the store an "apothecary" in
the European tradition. Like his overseas counterparts, he focused
heavily on herbal medicines and traditional formulas, which were already
popular and familiar among his international customers. |
| Although Merz Apothecary
was a humble store, it served as a gathering place for the community
to which it catered. Comfortable leather chairs allowed patrons to
sit and chat as they waited for their prescriptions to be filled or
their remedies to be prepared. Merz and his pharmacists spoke many
languages allowing customers to shop and seek advice in their native
tongues. It wasn't long before the store's reputation spread. |
| Over the next 85
years the business continued to grow and the store was passed on.
First, to Merz's son, Lee, and later to Lee's sons, Ralph, Melvin,
and Earl. The store continued to retain its international focus and
developed a loyal following among Europeans throughout the Midwest.
|
 |
| In the early 1960s,
corner drugstores throughout the United States began to die off. Low
margins on prescriptions and competition from large chain drugstores
drove independent pharmacies out of business. The American pharmacist
was quickly reduced from a trusted source of health advice to a mere
pill-counter. But such was not the case at Merz Apothecary. Its loyal
customer base and traditional herbal approach to health allowed it
to thrive during this difficult period. As the majority of the country
sought salvation through prescription drugs, Merz maintained its unique
balance between modern (allopathic) medicine and traditional remedies.
Its customers continued to seek out the advice of its experienced
pharmacists and requested their hand-mixed formulas from the vintage
apothecary bottles which lined the shelves. |
 Despite
the success of the business, in 1972 Ralph Merz was ready to retire--without
a successor. The store, which had been in the family for three generations,
was about to close permanently. One month before the scheduled closing,
26-year-old pharmacist (and Smallflower.com cofounder), Abdul Qaiyum,
walked into Merz Apothecary after hearing about it from his German
in-laws. He immediately fell in love with the store. As a recent pharmacy
school graduate, Qaiyum had quickly become disenchanted with his job
at a large drugstore chain and was ready to leave the field altogether.
But Merz Apothecary, with its focus on traditional natural remedies,
reminded him of his family's business and the healing traditions in
his homeland of Pakistan. He purchased it a few days later. |
| The Expansion |
 Over
the next few years the extinction of the independent pharmacy continued,
yet Qaiyum managed to expand Merz Apothecary's business dramatically,
developing a significant mail order business across the country. He
also noticed that more and more American customers were seeking out
the store because they needed a quality source of natural products
and information. So in 1982, he moved Merz Apothecary to its current,
larger location--only a few miles from the original one. The new store
was custom-built to replicate a turn-of-the-century European apothecary,
complete with a hand-carved wooden exterior, leaded glass windows,
parquet floors, tin ceilings, and solid oak cabinets. The store's
original antique pharmacy jars and herb containers (which were still
in use) now had a fitting home. |
| The shift in the
Apothecary's location was matched by an important shift in its wellness
approach. With the move, Qaiyum expanded the store's inventory to
include homeopathic remedies, vitamins, supplements, and other natural
medicines. This expansion was part of the larger vision of health
which he began to develop at the time. Qaiyum realized that true health
involves feeling good mentally, physically, and emotionally. In order
to meet those needs, he began offering natural skin care, bath, aromatherapy,
and other personal care products from around the world. Such a mix
of external and internal health and physical and emotional well being
was unheard of at the time and the store's popularity grew enormously
among Americans and international customers alike. |
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| These
days, Merz Apothecary is a Chicago landmark (tour buses from around
the Midwest make regular stops at the Apothecary) and a mecca for
people who want unique natural products for their bodies. The store
sends packages to customers around the world and has been featured
often in local, national, and international media. Over the years
the careful product selection has continued, and now the shop boasts
the largest collection of natural and luxury soaps from around the
world under one roof. |
 Despite
the growth and attention, the store has not lost focus of the original
concept of the apothecary. The staff hails from around the world and
speaks seven languages altogether. Although the international customers
no longer make up the majority of the clientele, their numbers continue
to grow and now draw from all around the world. The pharmacists remain
in constant demand for the 124 years of health and product knowledge
they've inherited. The location and people have changed over the years,
but the goal has remained the same: superior and personal service
for each customer's total well being. |
| The
Internet |
|
It was out of this
sense of history and mission that Qaiyum and his son Anthony founded
Smallflower.com in 1998. They saw the need for an expanded vision
of health on the Internet.
Our challenge here
at Smallflower is to meld the Old World approach and knowledge of
Merz Apothecary with the New World technology of the Web without
losing the vision and character that make Merz special. We're quite
proud of the path we've taken so far. When you shop at Smallflower
you can be confident that you're dealing with a staff that has intimate
knowledge of the products and deals with in-the-flesh customers
every day. They're listening closely to what people want and that
knowledge directly shapes the information and product selection
on the web site.
|
 |
 Our
view is that your health is too important to take chances with. We
believe that you're better off with a product selection that has been
carefully honed over more than a century. We believe you'll be healthier
if you use the finest products from around the world; products which
promote external as well as internal health and mental as well as
physical well being. And finally, we are sure you'll be better served
by a staff that has 124 years of accumulated experience and constant
interaction with people in need of help. Our goal is still the same
as it was on opening day in 1875: to provide the best service and
products to help our customers lead happier, healthier lives. If that
seems a bit grand, it's not. It's only what you deserve. |
| Please
let us know if there is anything we can do to serve you better: service@smallflower.com. |
|
If you're ever
in Chicago, please stop by the store and say hello!
Merz Apothecary
4716 N. Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
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| Back to the Merz Homepage
| Shop at our online store: www.smallflower.com
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