She left her family, friends, country and business behind to escape communism.

"I wanted a better life, but most of all, I wanted freedom and independence," she says as she describes her reasons for fleeing communist Poland.

Keller, 56, was born three years after World War II ended. Her hometown of Raciborz, Poland, had been 90 percent destroyed during the war and annexed from Germany into Poland when the war ended. This transfer of power resulted in hard times for many Polish citizens, including Keller's family. Inside their apartment, the family spoke German. Outside, they were forced to speak Polish and were constantly on their guard, fearful that they would be caught by the Polish secret police for speaking German, which had become illegal after the war ended. If caught, a citizen was arrested. And life was also difficult in other ways.

"Just trying to get a telephone, you had to apply to the government and be put on a 10-year waiting list," Keller says."

This oppressive mentality made it easier for Keller to consider leaving her native country for the United States. Yet it wasn't until her early 30s that she summoned enough courage to take action.

Exiting Poland required financial and psychological sacrifices. It meant leaving her family and all her possessions behind--packing too much would have tipped off authorities about her plans to flee. So Keller quietly sold her successful clothing boutique, giving most of the money received from the boutique's sale to her four siblings and mother. Her father had died in 1980. She wanted to provide enough money for the family to live comfortably for a year. Her family also guarded her secret and were the only ones who knew her true reasons for selling her possessions. Years after she fled Poland, she would apologize to her close friends for not saying goodbye or informing them of her plans.

On that fateful day in 1981, Keller's mother and sister accompanied her to the train station. As they waved goodbye, Keller says, it was an especially difficult moment because the three women didn't know when they'd see each other again.

"We have a very close family, so in many ways, it was hard to say goodbye," Keller says. "We lived so close to each other for so long. Some would think that would be hard, but it only brought us closer."

The lure of freedom was also pulling her across the Atlantic. "I knew there was more opportunity in the United States. In Poland, by the time you were 14, you had to already know what you would do for the rest of your professional life. If you studied to be in retail, that is the only thing you could do."

Keller boarded that train to West Germany in September 1981 with only one suitcase, a passport and a wallet. Lacking all of the required visas and residency permit paperwork, Keller feared she would be sent back to Poland when the train reached the military checkpoint in East Berlin. Many before her had tried and failed to defect from communist Poland and East Germany, she says, so when she arrived in West Germany unscathed by police questioning, she couldn't believe her good fortune. Destiny had played her a trump hand. Once she arrived in West Berlin, she applied for and received political asylum.

After spending four months in West Germany, reality was just an ocean away when her Willow Glen aunt, Therese Reedy, sponsored Keller to come to the United States.

In December 1981, the California that Keller had seen glamorized in the movies became her world, and the 33-year-old had no intention of leaving.

"I had been thinking about moving to the United States since I was 18. I used to watch the television show Streets of San Francisco and would tell my friends, 'One day I will be there.'"

She arrived in California without the ability to speak a word of English. So she enrolled in a three-hour-a-day English course to improve her speaking and writing.

While living with her aunt and uncle, Keller secured a job at the former Bergmann's Department Store on Lincoln Avenue, now home to Casa Casa.

While working at Bergmann's, she met Phil Keller, owner of House of Nutrition. Nine months after their first date, the two married, and as a wedding present, Phil gave his two nutrition businesses to Keller: Country Ranch, which is now closed, and the House of Nutrition, which has been part of Lincoln Avenue for 24 years.

"From our first date, I was fascinated by her," 62-year-old Phil says. "She loves having the freedom here to say and do as she pleases. It's not just political freedom she sought but also cultural."

And he says her loyalties to the United States run deep.

He recalls Monika receiving a letter from Germany, explaining she could apply for a German passport, in addition to her American passport. Phil says he was surprised when Monika became upset.

"She said, 'I'm an American, I'm only an American and I don't want to be anything else.'"

Monika says when Phil gave her both stores, he also gave her the license to learn to speak English more fluently. Until owning the shops, she had become proficient at writing English but didn't have as much practice speaking it.

Keller has owned the House of Nutrition for more than 20 years and says even though chain nutrition stores and organic markets are dominating the industry, "business is unbelievable." She says her focused attention to customers gives her the upper hand compared to employees at other nutrition stores "who don't have knowledge or background in what they are selling." She calls customers "baby" or "darling," which have become her trademark phrases when she greets her customers.

Lincoln Avenue jewelry merchant Merel Heggelund says many nearby businesses benefit from Keller and the House of Nutrition.

"Anytime you have a store that brings in as much foot traffic as Keller's, it's good for all of us," Heggelund says.

Heggelund owns Mann's Jewelers, only a few stores away from the House of Nutrition. He's been acquainted with Keller almost since she arrived in Willow Glen. Under her ownership, Heggelund says, demonstrating a true entrepreneurial American spirit, the House of Nutrition has become a formidable business on the avenue and among its competition.

"She's brought in a lot of new products and sold much more than the other nutrition stores," he says. "She has cutting-edge products for nutrition."

Veranda owner Larry Thiboutot has also known Keller almost since her arrival in Willow Glen, when he used to own the Willow Glen Attic near House of Nutrition.

Since opening Veranda across the street, he doesn't see her as often, but he describes Keller as "a hard worker and very serious about her work."

"She takes pride in herself," Thiboutot says. "She's a very pleasant person. She's very well-liked by everyone."

House of Nutrition customers Cecilia Maste and Tia Nang echoed Thiboutot's comments, walking out of the House of Nutrition with smiles and bags of vitamin supplements.

"We are going on vacation to Cancun, so we wanted to find out how to get rid of the pouch around our stomachs," Maste says. "She knows a lot."

Maste, 34, jokingly adds, "I'm actually 55 but her products make me look this way!"

With a successful business and a solid family life Keller's world had hit its stride, when a new challenge arose. And she reacted in the only way she knew how--with tenacity.

In October 2003 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After the diagnosis, Keller says she didn't "mope or cry," she simply made a surgery appointment to remove the cancer.

Nine days later she was back at work and continued to open her doors even during radiation treatment, saying she was unable to stay away from the job she loves. She was told to rest in bed but recalls pacing around her home because "it drove me crazy not to work."

"I am a breast cancer survivor," she says, smiling. "And I've used my knowledge of diseases and cancer to help people that come into my store. I've learned that I was put here to help others."

Keller considers herself a "born workaholic" and has no plans to retire. She says she would feel guilty closing the store and wants to continue helping people as long as she can. She says her life motto could be described as "Live good, be healthy and help people."

And she has a lot to live for. She has two daughters and four grandchildren she gives "110 percent to."

In September 1987, while her husband was a disc jockey at KBAY, Keller was sworn in as a U.S. citizen. It was the same year that marked the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States, and Keller recalls, "My husband was the master of ceremonies. It was a very exciting day for me, a day that affirmed my freedom."

And she adds, "Freedom should be my title. Freedom from cancer and freedom from communism."

For more information about House of Nutrition, 1371 Lincoln Ave., call 408.292.4109.