THE LOOK
Beberg: Moods of Norway floral shirt, $159 @ Moods of Norway; Askov Finlayson Explorer pant, $218, Vans two-tone sneakers, $45, and Anderson’s woven belt, $135, all @ Askov Finlayson; Shinola watch, $600 @ Shinola; and Derome Brenner eyeglasses, Beberg’s own, available @ Specs Barrett: Moods of Norway leather jacket, $799, and mid-top sneakers, $199, both @ Moods of Norway; Schnayderman’s oxford shirt, $235, and Askov Finlayson Explorer pant, $218, both @ Askov Finlayson; The Horse leather watch, $120 @ Parc Boutique; and Mykita Mylon 3-D-printed eyeglasses, Barrett’s own, available @ Specs
if you’re headed to Lyn-Lake’s Pharmacie in search of pill bottles and Band-Aids, you’re out of luck. That said, co-owners Roger Barrett and Sam Beberg sell just about everything else you need. “We’re basically a drugstore for your lifestyle,” Beberg says.
Pharmacy-esque touches are, in fact, all over the place in the home-décor store—from the glitter-filled test tubes (which served exclusively decorative purposes until customers asked to buy them) to lamps inspired by pharmacy bottles to a wall-size photograph of a 1920s pharmacy counter.
“We wanted to mix super-modern design with the apothecary aesthetic,” says Barrett, whose day gig as director of exhibit design at the Science Museum of Minnesota bolstered his merchandising skills.
Beberg brings plenty of customer-service experience thanks to a near-decade running the south Minneapolis breakfast joint Hot Plate—where he still works several mornings a week.
The duo flirted with the idea of opening the shop in the former Burch Pharmacy building at Hennepin and Franklin (now home to Burch Steak), but switched the name’s spelling to the French version when they settled on the Lyn-Lake location. And as for the magenta first-aid-inspired logo, that’s a funnier story.
“It was supposed to be green,” explains Barrett.
“But we were in California looking at other stores, and we noticed all these green crosses everywhere—apparently it’s a symbol for medical-marijuana growers,” Beberg jumps in. “We changed that real quick.”
The bold pink shade pops against glass windows and paper shopping bags, and has served as an anchor for Barrett and Beberg’s latest venture: their own furniture line. They’ve started with tables for now: marble tops perched on midcentury-inspired legs crafted in Pharmacie’s iconic hue.
Everything in the store has a degree of individuality and cheekiness to it—a virtual extension of Barrett and Beberg’s personalities. The new line fits in beautifully with the rest of the shop’s offerings, including Fishs Eddy dessert plates reading “Big Mistake” (which a deadpan Barrett suggests should instead be used for serving salad), beaker-shaped vases, and oak bookshelves with leather trim by Minam.
The two are undoubtedly in tune—they’ve known each other 10 years and have been a couple for five of them—and possess similar senses of humor and even mannerisms (they sigh simultaneously as they discuss the passing of Joan Rivers). They spend afternoons together people-watching through the corner lot’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows with shop dog Lulu, a 13-year-old Shiba Inu.
PHOTO BY CARLOS GONZALEZ
THE LOOK
Lulu: Shinola contrast leather collar, $75, with RuggedWrist nylon leash, $60, pictured with Shinola linen toy football, $25, and Mystic Knotwork rope pull toy, $15, all @ Shinola
When it comes to getting dressed, both Barrett and Beberg insist that they keep it basic. But while they may be jeans-and-T-shirt guys, the denim fits are impeccable and their V-necks don’t come in Hanes three-packs. Both boast funky sneakers and chunky glasses.
“We love the specs,” Barrett says very seriously, adjusting his round turquoise pair, which were created using a 3-D printer.
Celebrating a year in business this month, they have no plans to slow down as they complete a renovation of what they call the store’s “ever-evolving” display corner (the latest look features a sliding barn door by Tandem Made and wallpaper designed by Terrence Payne). They also look toward a potential expansion into lighting for their own line plus a major influx of giftables (cookbooks, candles, and the like) for the holiday season.
“We like to carry things that anyone would want,” says Beberg, picking up a gold-plated rubber ducky. “I mean, who wouldn’t like this?”
It’s a foolproof cure for just about anything.
ROGER AND SAM’S STYLE CRIB SHEET
Go-to grooming product
Roger: Kiehl’s moisturizer
Sam: Malin + Goetz face serum
Favorite store
Sam: Askov Finlayson: “It’s the most comfortable. It’s small, it’s intimate, it’s Scando but not too preppy.”
What you’d never be caught dead in
Roger: A bolo tie
Sam: A football jersey
Lulu-approved pet toys
Sam: “She’s so low-maintenance.”
Roger: “She mostly plays with, like, the mail.”
BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOS
Photo by Carlos Gonzolaz
Photo by Jeremy Nelson
Photo by Jeremy Nelson
Photo by Jeremy Nelson
