Before there was GNC or CVS there was
Merz Apothecary. Nestled in the absolutely adorable Lincoln Square (a very underrated neighborhood), this is one of my favorite places for my all natural beauty needs.
I've been visiting this store for 10 years now, and I'm endlessly baffled by all of the
stuff they sell: soaps, teas, lotions, homeopathic cures, candles, baby items, aromatherapy, vitamins, all from around the world. My husband isn't one for speacialty products, but he buys the snootiest shaving stuff from Merz. (It got him to start shaving everyday so I'm very happy.) I think it's so much fun just to sift through all of the different items they have.
Did you know that Merzs Apothecary has been around for 136 years! It was founded in 1875 by Peter Merz, a Swiss pharmacists who opened his store in German Town. (Now called Lincoln Square.) An apothecary is actually a modern day pharmacists, minus the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of education. They answered all of your questions about which medicines to take and how to cure what ails you. The store became extremely popular with its European neighbors, and it remained a family business until 1972 when it was purchased by a Pakistani pharmacists, Abdul Qaiym.
Qaiyum, who heard about Merz from his German in-laws, kept the 'days of yore' atmosphere of the business and expanded to include even more natural products and remedies. Even though it has a new Lincoln Square location, Merz still has the turn-of-the-century European feel of the original store. (Hand-carved wood, tin ceilings, the works.) Even if you don't plan on buying something - and you definitely will - the store itself is gorgeous and worth visiting.
And even if you don't visit the store itself, you can stop by the mini store in the
Palmer House Hilton. It used to be located in the
State Street Macy's - it's been there since the Marshall Field days - but they moved to the Palmer House last November. I'm not sure why, but the company press release said its because they wanted to partner with another historical Chicago business. (Did you know the Palmer House opened in 1871?!)
Have you ever been to Merz Apothecary?
I love getting lost in stores like this. You are giving me so many great things to see when I finally get a chance to visit Chitown!
ReplyDeleteLS is my hood! And I love Merz... it's so fun to wander through and see what they have, and I think they're so helpful whenever I go in actually looking for something specific.
ReplyDelete