It was a humid summer day in Chicago when Norman Miller, son of Chicago natives Eddie and Ada Miller, was born in 1930. His adolescence was spent on the old West Side of Chicago where he learned the tricks of the trade from his father, a renowned master plumber.
In 1951, Norman Miller along with his good friend Sal D. purchased Madison Plumbing. In true Miller fashion, we are not clear on how the deal went down, whether it was actually purchased or won in a card or dice game.
Madison plumbing was located at Madison and Sacramento, only a few blocks from Marshal High School where Norman graduated and met his childhood sweetheart and future wife, Gloria.
After 3 years, Norman moved the company to Elston Ave on the North side. With only a handful of talented plumbers out on their daily jobs, Norman spent days and nights at the Shoppe drafting and planning the next steps for Madison Plumbing (perhaps, also planning his next trip to Vegas!) People would knock on the window or door and ask if he had repair parts or if he could help fix their faucets. It was evident to Norman there was a niche market for this and so, Madison Plumbing was dissolved and The Faucet Shoppe was born. Originally located at 3844 N. Elston Ave, the 1800 sq. foot Shoppe with a 20-foot parts counter has serviced over 1 million plumbers, professionals, homeowners, property managers, restaurant owners and Do-It-Yourselfers. Norman had an understanding and fondness for plumbing, engineering and outside the box solutions that made him the original faucet parts "Jedi"! He found creative ways to locate these parts from the most common to the most rare. The Faucet Shoppe, Inc. began to specialize in some of the largest brand names like The Chicago Faucet Company, Crane Plumbing Co, Kohler, American Standard, Moen, Delta, Gerber, Price Pfister and more. It quickly became the preferred vendor and destination for local Chicagoland fixers, as well as dozens who would drive in from the surrounding states. Being a neighborhood hero, Norman coined the phrase “Bring Samples”. This allowed for the parts identification process to be established on the local level and has become a Chicago staple to this very day.
Back in the 80s and 90s, Norman's first grandson, Adam, would spend hours at his beloved grandfather's Shoppe. Standing on a crate to see over the counter, Adam would help customers and organize parts. Through the years, he quickly became a fixture behind the counter. As the years went on, Adam created one of the first E-commerce businesses for replacement parts and faucets. He then expanded the brick-and mortar business and moved down the block to a larger facility at 3812 N. Elston Ave. When Norman passed away in 2015, Adam vowed to carry on his legacy the "Norman way". The Faucet Shoppe continues to service the plumbing needs of each and every customer while providing the one-on-one expertise of the next generation plumbing parts "Jedi". Adam's expansive book of knowledge has propelled this brick and mortar family business to become a Chicago institution. These days you can even see Adam's own children helping customers, just as he did standing on that crate 40+ years ago. The counter may be different but the values remain the same!