Meet Lita: the owner of Einnim, an Oak Park candle bar, and apothecary.
During the pandemic, she made the transition from working in the corporate world as a Director of Operations in an auto-related marketing business. Einnim first started as an e-commerce business in May 2020 and Lita opened the first brick-and-mortar location on Lake Street in July 2021. The business name Einnim (pronounced eye-nuhm) is her grandmother’s name, Minnie, spelled backward and honors her strength and the commonality Lita finds in that as a woman and woman of color in business.
Einnim is both candle bar and apothecary. The candle bar is more like a workshop where they offer a special in-store experience for customers to invent their perfect scent. There are several different options to curate the perfect experience for each person. She loves watching clients throw their head back when their memory is revived by something they smell in one of their scent options. Anyone can drop in during business hours to make a candle — it’s really that easy! As a modern apothecary, they seek to promote mental and physical wellness with natural or homeopathic products. Their store offers more than just beautifully hand-poured soy wax candles – they also have goat milk soap bars, body and hair products, and goods from local artisans and fellow small businesses!
Lita was initially drawn to Oak Park during COVID when her and her fiancée (now husband!) would drive around the area. Before opening their brick-and-mortar store, they relocated to Oak Park from South Loop and have since fallen in love with it. Einnim’s location next to Lake Theatre has great visibility and a lot of walking traffic and has helped her build relationships with customers from Chicago and even out-of-state.
