DEWITT — Natur-Tyme, a health and wellness store that put itself forward as Central New York’s nutritional headquarters, will be closing its doors in the months ahead.
With the tagline “creating a healthier community, starting with you!” the DeWitt staple located at 3160 Erie Blvd. E. has been a go-to, one-stop shop for discount multivitamins, a variety of teas, probiotic skincare products, gluten-free snacks, herbal supplements for sleep support, and other immune supporters.
In addition to those offerings—as well as a bulk section containing grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruit—the store has incorporated an art gallery and the Enhanced Beauty Salon, where customers can either get their hair cut and colored or receive massages or facials done with toxin-free, eco-friendly products. The store has also hosted workshops in its community room and an annual springtime health fair at the New York State Fairgrounds with guest speakers and vendors.
The decision to close up shop resulted from rising operational costs as well as reduced revenue brought about by “ongoing changes in consumer behavior accentuated by the pandemic” according to an announcement made in the middle of April by married store owners Wendy Meyerson and Andrew Fox.
“The decision to close Natur-Tyme was extremely difficult since this local business has been part of our family for more than [30] years,” read the statement posted on the store’s website, natur-tyme.com.
After opening in East Syracuse in 1983, Natur-Tyme would end up being purchased and brought over to Charles Avenue on Syracuse’s west side by Meyerson’s father, Stan, in 1991. About a decade later, Wendy bought the store from her dad and moved it to Bridge Street, where it stayed until the relocation to the current Erie Boulevard retail space in Empire Plaza in 2012.
Upon taking the reins around the turn of the century, Meyerson married Fox, who previously worked in the corrugated packing industry.
When Meyerson’s father passed away unexpectedly, Fox gave up his former career and stepped in to support his wife. He later transformed what was once a Goldberg’s furniture store into what Natur-Tyme is now.
“He built this thing from the cinder blocks up,” Meyerson said. “He redid this whole thing and created the Taj Mahal for me.”
On owning Natur-Tyme with her husband, Meyerson said “it’s been an amazing journey.”
She said she has taken pride in carrying on the “deep-rooted history” that exists in her lineage of empowering community members and educating them about health.
Her father and his father, Abraham, were both pharmacists known to write prescriptions in the middle of the night if needed by a sick child.
“I was able to pick that ball up like how my father was picking up from my grandfather,” Meyerson said. “I know they’re looking down extremely proud.”
She said that while times have changed with the growth of online channels and the stocking of similar nutritional items on grocery store and gas station shelves, what will be missed will be the relationships built between the customers and the employees, some of whom have been with Natur-Tyme for upwards of a quarter-century.
“We’ve seen families through tragedies and births and deaths and good and bad,” Meyerson said. “I’ve always said someone can walk into this store who needs a spice for a recipe and the next person who walked in has been told they have six weeks to live. We’ve been a part of their lives, and that’s the legacy of what Natur-Tyme is.”
The website post announcing the closing thanked the store’s customers for their loyalty and patronage.
Natur-Tyme will conduct business as usual until the end of April. Starting in May, there will be a going-out-of-business sale, but the goal of the owners is to shut down by Memorial Day unless inventory remains available.
