American Science & Surplus is fighting for its life. Here’s why you should care.

It was shortly after moving into Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood that I saw the sign for the first time: American Science & Surplus. My curiosity piqued, I pulled into the strip mall and walked into a store filled with an unimaginable variety of lab equipment, military surplus, tools, electronics, toys, and so much more.

Now, nearly 90 years after its launch selling "reject lenses" as American Lens & Photo, American Science & Surplus is facing an existential threat. The COVID-19 pandemic and increased costs hit the business hard, so the store has launched a GoFundMe campaign looking to raise $200,000 from customers and fans alike. What's happening in suburban Chicago is a microcosm of the challenges facing local retail, with big-box retailers and online behemoths overwhelming beloved local institutions. It's a story that has played out countless times in the last two-plus decades, and owner Pat Meyer is hoping this tale has a different ending.

American Science & Surplus owner Pat Meyer holds the two most popular items in the store: $4 solenoid switches that are used to repair a well-known brand of single-cup coffee makers.

Credit: Eric Bangeman

Launching a fundraiser was a tough choice for Meyer. "I don't like asking people for money," he said. With his voice catching, he continued: "It's hard for me to talk about sometimes, because the more I'm in the store, the more I see how much people care about it and don't want it to go away."

And the current environment is tough for small business owners. "Banks… are real hesitant [about lending] money," Meyer told Ars. "Interest rates are high, too. So we decided that we were going to try and reach out to the community that we built over the last 88 years."

Walk into any of the three American Science & Surplus' stores in the Illinois-Wisconsin area—two in Illinois, Park Ridge and Geneva, and one in Milwaukee—and it's easy to see why it has such a devoted following. Each aisle could be a store of its own. One has stationery and office supplies. Another has military surplus. The next one over has tools. I head over there regularly just to wander the aisles and see what's in stock. Other times I go looking for a particular oddball item—and I usually find it there.

A long history

Old catalogs from the American Lens & Photo days.

Credit: American Science & Surplus

American Science & Surplus got its start in 1937 and has expanded its inventory and reach ever since. And Meyer has been a part of the story for the last four decades. "I've done everything in the company that there is to do," he said. "I started off literally scraping floors and Windexing, driven our trucks. I've done warehouse sales, I've done tent sales. I've been store manager, assistant manager, I've done—there isn't anything in this company that I haven't—and it's been my life for 41 years."

Over time, the store has moved far beyond lenses and lab equipment. There's a science toy section and an aisle devoted to Etsy-style craft supplies. But other, once-thriving areas of the business have suffered. When I first discovered American Science & Surplus in the early 2000s, I would always linger at the massive telescope section. The store staff was always more than happy to answer my questions and explain the differences between the scopes. Now, telescopes are just a small corner of the store, and sales are infrequent. "People come in to ask questions and then buy the telescopes online," Meyer explained.

One of the display cases in the Park Ridge store. My kids loved to search through the fossils and minerals when they were younger.

In many ways, American Science & Surplus is a physical manifestation of the maker ethos. There is an endless array of motors, switches, cables, tools, and connectors. "Sometimes our customers will send us photos of their creations," said Meyer. "It's always cool to see how people are inspired by shopping here."

The store should feel familiar to those who were alive in the peak days of Radio Shack. In fact, there used to be a Radio Shack in the same strip mall as American Science & Surplus' old store in the Jefferson Park neighborhood on Chicago's northwest side. Meyer said that Radio Shack would frequently send customers a few doors down to his store to find things Radio Shack didn't stock. And one time, the surplus store sent a customer back. "Radio Shack sent one guy over to us after telling him they didn't have the item in stock," Meyer said. "We didn't have it, but one of our associates knew Radio Shack did, so he walked the customer back, pulled the part out of the bin, and handed it to him."

Abounding in quirkiness

That customer service ethos is one of the reasons the company has lasted as long as it has. Another is the offbeat, quirky nature of the store. It's not just the inventory—even the product descriptions are offbeat. A sign for a $19.50 "Deluxe Walking Cane" warns customers that it's "not the edible kind of cane."

Your one-stop shop for surplus Romanian military hardware.

If you're looking for, say, a Romanian army gas mask, a tactical spork, or a set of tuning forks, there aren't a lot of other options. Meyer said that only a handful of similar surplus stores are left in the US, down from hundreds a few decades ago.

American Science & Surplus has adapted over the years. There's now a well-stocked section of science toys. And Meyer has started hosting science nights. The next one, slated for June 7 at the Park Ridge store, will double as a fundraiser—in addition to the usual science experiments and demonstrations, there will be a silent auction and live music.

What will Meyer do with the money if the fundraising goal is reached? "We have to move our warehouse," he said. "It's too expensive, it's too big." Other plans include updating its operating software and updating the website. A quick look at the About Us page of the current site shows the need for an update. It contains a warning that the "heavy use of tables" may not be supported in all browsers—paired with a suggestion to download Netscape Navigator.

Mule-branding kits: Extreme military surplus. Most stores don't carry such a fine selection of tuning forks.

As of this writing, the GoFundMe campaign has raised $136,903. Meyer says contributing isn't just about supporting American Science & Surplus; it's about supporting local retail during a very challenging time. "Who wants to buy everything at Amazon, Walmart, Temu, and Target?" he asked.

Eric Bangeman, Managing Editor

Eric Bangeman is the Managing Editor of Ars Technica. In addition to overseeing the daily operations at Ars, Eric also manages story development for the Policy and Automotive sections. He lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, where he enjoys cycling and playing the bass.