Natural Food Shop, 3048 S. 13th St., has been in business for 51 years. According to long-term employee Linda Simic, Natural Foods had been in danger of closing until it was purchased by Judy Weiss and Jack Green.
Eldora Marshall started the store in 1960 with business partner Wally Rice. Rice later married Geneva and acquired the store in 1970. When Wally died, Geneva Rice took the reins solo for years, until quite recently.
"Geneva was running the store herself until she broke her hip. She recovered, but when she took the fall she knew it would be a turning point," says Simic. Rice will be 87 years old this month.
Simic, who is a reiki practitioner and massage therapist, offered to buy the store but says she's happy that Weiss and Green came into the picture.
"I wasn't really in a position to buy the store. I just couldn't bear to see it close," she says.
Natural Food Shop had a grand re-opening Oct. 13, 14 and 15, with classes covering topics from cancer and homeopathic natural healing to using herbs to make medicinal bath salts and teas. The classes were a success and customers have been asking for more. According to Simic, they haven't currently worked out how often courses will be offered.
Natural Food Shop sells essential oils, vitamins, natural supplements, herbs (in both tinctures and raw) and other natural products, like cosmetics, shampoos, soaps and toothpastes. The herbs are sold for both healing and culinary purposes and the employees do a lot of repackaging from bulk supplies, which helps keep prices lower.
Some of the products that could once only be found at a store like the Natural Food Shop are now available in chain drug stores or big box discount stores.
"I saw the transition, from when you could only find these things here. You see products like these (at a big box store) but without someone to give guidance. Without the instruction, knowledge and service that you can get here at Natural Food, these products are just out there, floating," says Simic.
Employees at Natural Food Shop are all trained in related fields. Many are certified massage therapists, one is a certified flower essence practitioner, others are certified hypnotherapists and yoga instructors.
The shop carries books on natural medicine so people can educate themselves about their bodies and build an understanding of what they put in them.
"It's all about education, learning, taking your health in your own hands," says Simic.
Green travels weekly to a farm for free range Peruvian chicken eggs for the store, something that former owner Rice also used to do. The shop also stocks in its cooler locally produced products by Simple Soyman, as well as honey, natural root beer and some bulk foods, such as rye berries, rolled oats and harder to find items.
One of these harder to find bulk items is psyllium husks, which are a natural fiber people put in juice to help regulate their bodies, namely, their bowels.
"It's comparable to Metamucil, as psyllium husks are the main ingredient of that product, but without all the additives and without the packaging, which always increases prices," says Simic.
Rosemary Smyczek has been a customer of Natural Foods Shop for over 20 years. "I started coming here when Geneva was here, which goes back quite a while. I keep coming back because the people have a lot of useful information," she says.
"This store is a true resource for spirit, service and care. It would have been so sad for the community if it had closed," says Simic.
Royal has taught courses in critical pedagogy, writing, rhetoric and cultural studies at several schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He is currently Adjunct Associate Professor of Humanities at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.
Royal lives in Walker’s Point with his family and uses the light of the Polish Moon to illuminate his way home.
