Willner Chemist

I love Willner Chemist. They carry the Whole food supplements I like to take. On
top of that they are always 10% off (this adds up when you make a large order). I always like to interact with Marilyn when I place my order over the phone. I get to receive my order the next day if I order early in the day. Great friendly service. I’ve been using them since 2009. Try them you will like them. I’ll be ordering again soon.

I came in here last week for probiotics on a recommendation from a friend. In my mind, I pictured some cramped and crusty corner store with a surly staffer behind the counter.
I was pleasantly surprise to find Willner to be a very large, well-​lit corner store, staffed by friendly and helpful people. This place is like a Home Depot for health and wellness. There is aisle after aisle of vitamins and supplements, etc. The staff is friendly too. Someone showed me where the probiotics were and the specific brand and I was on my way. I highly recommend this place.

Went in last week for an adrenal support supplement. The young salesperson was very nice and gave me two options. He didn’t know much about the product so he asked me to wait for the older russian (I think) guy… This guy knew his stuff. I bough a bottle of 120 pills for 15 less than I could on Amazon. I was really surprised at the price. I love Amazon, but prefer shopping locally. I will go back within the next week or so.

I pass this store on the way home every evening and always wanted to stop in. I purchased a product which I found to be $ 10 less at the Vitamin Shoppe — the very same product. the young customer service reps are also very rude. I will not return.

Beautifully maintained supplement, health & beauty store/​drug store with great prices, encyclopedic selection, knowledgeable staff. My doctor recommended I try taking the herb, butterbur, to manage my migraines– most health food stores might not have it, and if they did, I had two choices, max. Here? I had easily, 7 choices, in a range of prices & brands.

Great selection of supplements but a bit on the pricey side and some of the sales people can be quite rude if you ask too many questions.

I love Willners, and their on air radio show, but I have to tell you that some of the young people who work there are from hunger! This afternoon I went in to pick up a few item the man behind the counter, Mr Bey was having a very loud conversation with some one going out the door, and the young lady at the cash r didn’t bother to tell him that he had a customer, so I spotted an older man Michael, he was great as he ran around the store scooping up just what I needed, when it came time to pay I wanted to use a credit card, and cash the young lady told me No, I replied why not? It didn’t any sense, bottom line if it weren’t for mature workers I won’t shop in some of these places!

I work around the corner and have therefore frequented the store numerous times to purchase products. They do indeed have an excellent inventory and prices are reasonable. HOWEVER, I have learned to do my research regarding products BEFORE I enter the store. Yes, the staff is knowledgeable but they are a very unpleasant group of people who seem to think their customers should be grateful for their attention. NOT a model of customer service.

yes, they are crusty — & yes they really know their shit. love this place. over the years this place, though no social club, has been a true source of healing & the knowledgable staff has had no problem ordering the most arcane items — all for the purpose of better health for all.
viva la wilner, lol

This review echoes other reviews describing rude employees.
I stopped in to the Park Avenue location at approximately 4:45 this evening, looking to pick up two products. I asked the young lady at the front counter if the store carried them, she looked them up on her computer, then told me to ask at the back of the store. At the back, I saw a male employee picking up shopping baskets and, approaching him, said, «Excuse me, the person at the front counter suggested I –«
He interrupted me and said, gruffly, «I don’t care who told you what. You’re talking to me now. Hand me that paper.»
He was referring to the paper on which I’d written the names of the products. Shocked at his aggressive response, I just handed him the paper, and he walked around to another aisle. I then went to where he was, and he handed me a couple of bottles, asking about strengths/​dosages. I said to him, «You were just unbelievably rude.» He then abruptly turned and walked away. I said, after him, «I’m contacting the manager about this,» to which he responded, «Go ahead. I don’t give a s — .»
I went to the back counter and asked the woman behind it for the manager’s name, and she wrote it down for me: Len Goldstein. I asked if he were there, and she made a call, then said Mr. Goldstein was out of the building. I spoke to the pharmacist about the incident, and then began walking toward the front exit. I saw the rude employee hanging around at the front counter, and told him again I would be contacting the manager. He laughed and walked away. I then asked the young woman working the counter for his name, and she said «Alen.»
(Alen appears in one of the other Unilocal reviews, by the way.)
I *had* been a longtime customer of Willner Chemists, but stopped shopping (at the Park Avenue store) because I saw, about a year ago, a similar encounter between an employee (not the same employee) and another customer. I stopped in today just because I was in the neighborhood, but I will never patronize the store again.

Very knowledgeable staff! My doctor suggested Wilner’s after I reached a boiling point for a 2 months period of sleeplessness. I arrived (tired, irritated and only slightly hopeful) with a long list of vitamins the doctor had suggested, the lady at the cashier helped me immediately in gathering the «harvest». She asked me what were all these for, and I gave her my sob story, she then suggested Chinese herbal medicine. I shrugged, why not. She looked up my symptoms and matched it up with 2 different types of «Health Concerns» meds. As my batch of vitamins were hovering over $ 100, I chose the $ 33 herbal meds instead.
It has been about a week since I’ve started taken these pills, in addition to Vitamin D (as it turns out through blood works that I am D deficient), I’ve been sleeping a LOT better.
While the chemist wasn’t the friendliest lady in the world, she was helpful, which is what I needed! Thank you Wilner!

This is my new go to health store for everything apart from fresh produce. It’s dangerously seductive with high ceilings, openness and welcoming atmosphere. I always stick to my list so I don’t go over my budget but usually end up picking up a few extras things (mostly vitamins).
As another reviewer wrote, the extensive selection of quality vitamins is amazing– My favorite brand Solgar is well-​stocked here. All the other stuff (natural beauty products), every tincture and essential oil imaginable is all available here plus tons of packaged health foods (protein powders etc.)
Unlike other reviewers, the salespeople are generally friendly and if anything eccentric (not necessarily rude). That being said, they are a little weird… regardless love this place, close enough to help keep my healthy and happy.

2 out of 5 times I get a very annoying rude salesperson here so I’ll give them 2 stars.
I’m happy to know it wasn’t just me they were rude to :-)
Great stock, annoying help!

Rude sales person. A Russian named Allen with shaved head and a bad attitude. Couldn’t answer honest and dimple questions, got argumentative and fix missed me and walked away. They lost a big sake and a loyal customer. Manager Larry was spoken to do let’s see if he does the right thing aNd fires that arrogant bastard.

Went here to get probiotics due to my Thyroid disease.
Walked in and approached two people that obviously work there, giving me an annoyed look that I dared to break up their conversation.
I asked if they can help me find a good, affordable probiotic that is gluten and dairy free to heal my gut. The woman walks me to the section and pulls out a bottle and hands it to me. I asked her why she recommends that brand specifically, and if the number of live organisms matters in her opinion (after I have done extensive research, I had a few questions I wanted to ask). She gave me an annoyed look and said that she gave me that bottle because that’s what I asked for and that’s all she could do.
Okay!
So I go to the counter, there’s the other person who was giving me the annoyed look earlier for breaking up their conversation. I ask him if he knows if this is a good probiotic for my condition and if he knows how much the live organism count matters. He also gave me an annoyed look, said it’s about the strains.
Very rude people. I don’t get why this place is so highly rated, if the people working in there are not even making an effort to work for their money.
A simple and kind ‘I don’t know, to be honest’ would’ve gone a longer way than annoyed looks to your customer. No thanks.

In NYC — the difference of a bodega/​sundries store and a pharmacy/​chemistry is that a pharmacy/​chemistry HAS A PHARMACIST AND 99% of these pharmacies OR chemistries accept some sort of insurance. THIS ONE DOES NEITHER! No pharmacy like asthma medicine (fairly generic) AND NO INSURANCE accepted. Um, I declare a name change OR I feel somewhat baited and switched.

Willner offers some of the lowest prices on high-​end supplements, compared to most stores, comparable even with super-​cheap
. I’m grateful to the friendly and very knowledgable staff members (Mickey and Alan, especially) who remember who I am and which products I regularly buy. That’s great customer service.

I am consistently amazed by the extensive stock that this store carries. I am a self-​admitted supplement nut, and I have never walked out of here empty handed. The staff is very helpful as well; they know the place from top to bottom.
Who else in the city has in stock three different brands of molybdenum?
*EDIT 3/​11/​14* I’ve noticed recently that the prices at Willner on many of my favorite brands are actually LOWER than the online store I usually use, which is saying a lot. Amazing for a brick and mortar store, let alone one on Park Avenue. I have begun buying more of my monthly supplements here. Highly recommended.

Very reasonable priced for the location. I bought 2 things — one was 25% cheaper than Amazon, the other item was a little cheaper than Vitamin Shoppe which is way further. I’ll be visiting periodically.

There should be more places like this. You get an education just walking around but dont be surprised if the staff lurks after you asking if they can help you. It used to annoy me a bit, but they actually are really trying to be helpful and can bring you straight to your product and help you understand the differences between seemingly identical supplements (why is this one thirty dollars more? because its from the root and not the leaves, or because its extracted by x method versus Y method, or because its met stringent tests by third parties to ensure its not toxic etc) The staff are extremely well versed and able to navigate the shelves very quickly. When my partner was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer I really began to benefit from their support. I would come in with a list as long as my arm. They helped me identify which supplements were a priority and which ones were more optional. The woman at the back counter had gone through the same process with her father and directed me towards very affordable supplements that made a huge difference in offsetting the negative effects of chemotherapy. It is important to note that the shelves are organized by BRAND, not by supplement. So if you are looking for a vitamin D supplement for example you cant look at the bottles side by side, you have to know which brand you want (carlsons i’d say) if you are in a hurry therefore, definitely ask for help locating the item you want.