Local Business American Science and Surplus Launches GoFundMe

American Science & Surplus’ Milwaukee location at 6901 W Oklahoma Ave. Photo Provided by AS&S.

American Science and Surplus (AS&S) is a local novelty store that has been in business for nearly nine decades. However, rising operational costs, increased pressure from online retail giants, and soaring shipping rates have led the retailer to seek help from its customers.

On Thursday, AS&S launched a GoFundMe with a goal of $300,000 to help them with the expenses of moving their warehouse in Niles, Illinois to a new location and reorganizing the company.

“After nearly nine decades, the possibility of American Science & Surplus disappearing is a heartbreak we can’t imagine,” said CEO Patrick Meyer. “We hope many of you feel the same.”

Meyer began his AS&S career in 1984 at 16 years old in the Chicago location which was then called the American Science Center. In 2012, he purchased the company from the owner at the time, Phillip Cable.

“If you are in a position to help support us, we would be extremely grateful,” said Meyer. “Any small donation would help, and the money received will be used to help support our efforts to reorganize American Science & Surplus so we can continue to be the same source of ingenuity, invention and wacky products that you have known and loved over the years.”

American Science and Surplus began in Chicago as American Lens & Photo in 1937. The founder, Al Luebbers, noticed that a company was throwing away its rejected optical lenses and offered to buy them.

Luebbers and his wife, Buddy, spent their evenings at the kitchen table cleaning and polishing lenses. They placed an ad in Popular Science offering ten lenses for 50¢, and soon, orders began to pour in.

After World War II, the company expanded into war surplus and educational science items. They soon opened their first store location on Chicago’s Northwest side called American Science Center.

Their son, Jerry, joined the family business in the 1970s, eventually taking over for his parents. In 1979, Jerry launched a catalog under the name Jerryco.

Jerry opened their second location in Milwaukee on Layton Ave in 1981. In 1988, Jerry took in a partner, Scott McCausland, who bought out the Luebbers after Jerry’s unfortunate death a short time later.

In 1991, They opened their third location in Geneva, Illinois, and they soon consolidated all operations under the name American Science and Surplus. AS&S started its first website in 1995, and began accepting online orders in 1999.

In 2000, McCausland retired and sold American Science & Surplus to Philip Cable, who continued to grow the business until 2012, when Patrick Meyer bought the company.

Nowadays, American Science and Surplus’ Milwaukee location is located at 6901 W Oklahoma Ave. The Milwaukee location is their biggest, but they also have locations in Park Ridge and Geneva, Illinois. If you’d like to support this local small business, you can donate to their GoFundMe or support them in person by visiting a location.

“Our tagline, ‘Incredible Stuff, Unbelievable Prices,’ barely scratches the surface,” said Meyer. “It should be: ‘Incredible Surpies, Unbelievable People! You all inspire us!”