For nearly a quarter century, Jules Staniec has been dispensing nutritional guidance, weight gain/loss tips and a wide array of healthful food and drink products from his corner store on Frankford Avenue.
Not much has changed since the Germantown-born, Northeast-raised Staniec opened Stan’s Health Foods along the commercial corridor. Just as it was almost 25 years ago, Staniec continues to be a presence in the Mayfair business community, serving as the go-to guy for area athletes, weightlifting enthusiasts and those who simply aim to stay fit.
Staniec started the business with his brother, Richard. The two worked together for 18 years before Richard, a pharmacist, took a corporate gig and relocated to New Jersey. In fact, the name of the business, Stan’s, is reference to the brothers’ last name, not a first name, as people often assume.
But it’s more than that. Actually, you could call it a family affair.
"His (Richard’s) kids worked here, my kids worked here, the whole family worked here," Staniec said during an interview at the business last week.
Today, Staniec is the only one left to man the store — his brother is doing his own thing and his two kids are off on their own (son Marcus, 31, is a musician who lives in Tokyo; daughter Teena, 36, is a Doylestown-area photographer).
But the 59-year-old entrepreneur doesn’t mind. He likes things the way they are.
"I’m not out to conquer the world or anything," Staniec said. "I like it right here. I’m comfortable."
While he specializes in everything from health foods to nutritional supplements to bodybuilding products, Staniec’s business didn’t always offer the selection he has today.
"Believe it or not, I started out with herbal teas," he said.
And while he continues to believe in the healing properties of herbal tea, he simply couldn’t base a business on one item, especially in the neighborhood where he chose to open the shop.
"There are a lot of boxers in Philadelphia," Staniec said, explaining how he learned early on just how many local athletes, both amateur and professional, start out in the City of Brotherly Love.
When Stan’s opened, there was a gym right around the corner, and Staniec said that many up-and-coming athletes who worked out there began to frequent his business. It was simply a demand that drove his product of choice, which in the beginning was weight-gain supplements; if that’s what customers wanted, that’s what he would supply.
So why has Stan’s continued to thrive in a day and age when chain stores like GNC (General Nutrition Centers) and retailers on the Internet seem to have a duopoly on the nutrition-supplement market?
"What’s the draw? Price and service," Staniec said without hesitation. "I’m not out here to make a buck on the first guy that comes in here.
"I stand behind everything I sell," he continued. "I’d rather have your goodwill than your fifty bucks."
Rather, Staniec aims to please customers by engaging in meaningful dialogue with them, while giving them good rates. After all, he has made a name for himself as being the neighborhood go-to guy. Why would he sell out now?
Also, Staniec truly loves what he does. He especially enjoys seeing generations pass through his door; the father who once frequented the business for his bodybuilding supplement needs now brings his son to Stan’s.
"You watch them grow up," Staniec said about the children of longtime customers who, as youngsters, came in with their parents, and now use their own cars to get here.
Will Donahue is a longtime customer who has been coming to Stan’s for more than 20 years. Today, Donahue, 52 and very in shape, continues to share with Staniec stories of his newest exercise regimen during visits to the store.
"All his name brands are very competitive," Donahue said of one of the benefits of shopping at Stan’s.
Donahue, who used to compete as an amateur bodybuilder and now works as an assistant trainer in the martial-art Muay Thai, said he has always found what he was looking for at Stan’s. As a Northeast resident, Donahue admits it’s convenient for him to shop at Stan’s, but he also continues to patronize the business for another reason: friendly service.
Then there are the new customers, such as the 28-year-old competitive MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter who recently returned to his native Northeast Philadelphia from the Maryland area to train for upcoming bouts in Atlantic City and elsewhere in the region. One day last week, Staniec found himself where he is most comfortable — imparting nutrition knowledge and advice to the young fighter during a chat at the counter.
"You never know who’s going to walk in here," Staniec said of the nature of his client base.
Staniec appears in his element at his home away from home, chatting with customers as they file in and out of his store at 7161 Frankford Ave. He also appears to take his own advice; while nearing 60, Staniec continues to stay fit, no doubt with a daily dose of exercise and proper eating.
After all these years of running his own business, Jules Staniec has no plans to retire anytime soon.
"I like it here," he said. "A lot of my friends come in here. It’s not like work to me." ••
Reporter Jon Campisi can be reached at 215-354-3038 or jcampisi@phillynews.com