Will American Science & Surplus Survive?
Online sales ending. Milwaukee and Chicago stores being sold to employees.
American Science & Surplus, 6901 W. Oklahoma Ave. Photo by Sophie Bolich.
American Science & Surplus announced Wednesday that it will shutter its warehouse, ending online and mail order sales on Sept. 5, despite raising nearly $195,000 in donations to stay afloat.
The update comes three months after the 88-year-old company issued a plea for help, launching a GoFundMe to cover the cost of relocating its warehouse, updating software and replenishing inventory.
More than 3,000 donors chipped in, but the effort ultimately fell short says the company owner.
“The outpouring of support from our community has been incredible and the donations were the only reason we could stay in business as long as we did, allowing us to keep our folks employed, try to pay some vendors, landlords and keep the lights on,” owner Patrick Meyer wrote in a lengthy online post. “We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
But the latest news comes with a silver lining.
The Milwaukee and Geneva/West Chicago stores are being sold to employees, with the hope of continuing operations under new management.
A third store in Park Ridge, Illinois is earlier in the process, but has already drawn interest from several potential buyers, Meyer said.
“There is no other place like [American Science & Surplus,] and I will try to keep a big portion of it alive through our retail stores.”
American Science and Surplus, known initially as American Lens & Photo, got its start in the late 1930s under Al Luebbers, who partnered with his wife, Buddy, to clean, polish and sell rejected lenses from a Chicago plant. The business later expanded with a retail store, American Science Center, a catalog, and two more stores, including one in Milwaukee at 6901 W. Oklahoma Ave., which opened in 1981.
Today, the store stocks a “unique mix of industrial, military and educational items, with an emphasis on science and education.” That includes a battery-powered plasma ball, solar sun event viewing glasses, a vintage oscilloscope and much more. Inventory is available to browse online.
Meyer, who started working at American Science & Surplus at the age of 16, purchased the business in 2012.
“I have told our story many times over the years. Especially lately. Each time I tell it my voice cracks and I get emotional,” he said. “Even now as I write this. We will all miss working for this place. The conversations with each other, the conversations with our Surpie customers. We are so very thankful to have had this opportunity to be part of your lives and so incredibly sad a portion must come to an end. We wish we had a better outcome.”
The final day to place online orders and redeem gift cards is Friday, Sept. 5. Earlier posts from the business set the date for Sept. 7, but it was pushed forward Wednesday due to an influx of orders, according to a representative of the business.
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