The Story Behind Nancy Lou's Health Food Store

"KOUTS -- A lifelong appreciation of everything organic and natural has led Nancy Pyle Smiejek to open Nancy Lou's Health Food store in Kouts.

The business, which opened in early May, carries organic vitamins and supplements, hair and skin products, pet products and a variety of locally produced organic foods.

"I've been into this since I was 7 or 8 years old, when my granny picked up a flower to feed it to a bird," Pyle Smiejek said. "I thought she was wrong. 'You can't eat flowers,' I thought. But she taught me."

Pyle Smiejek considered opening a health-food store after her mother died of cancer in 1991. She and her husband moved to DeMotte, where she met Gail Wolfe, who owned Beacon Health Foods there."

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