Lincoln Square Optical
- October 2007So the time has come: you need a pair of eyeglasses. Since you'll be wearing them every day whether you're dressed up or down, you really need a pair of frames that you can feel good in. Something that flatters your face and suits your style. Once visit to Lincoln Square Optical will solve that challenge. Owner Richard Riegler is legendary in his ability to match a face to frames. (Ask people around the neighborhood, and you'll often hear the same story.) He'll size up your face intently for a few minutes, then he'll come back with what will likely be the perfect frames for you—even if they are something you would have never chosen for yourself. "If you have to wear them, you might as well have some fun," says Richard.
Lincoln Square Optical is filled with fashionable frames from designers who treat eyewear more like art than science. Richard carries a mix of European and U.S. lines and tends to focus on the small, boutique offerings that you won't find everywhere. Offbeat brands like ProDesign of Denmark, Booth & Bruce England, and OGI of Minneapolis are the types of eyewear offered at Lincoln Square Optical. "OGI was started by a friend of mine in Minneapolis," explains Richard. "The line features small frames for adults with great designs and colors." There are also a few high-quality mainstream lines that Richard likes to carry. He likes working with Silhouette, for example, because of the design possibilities that they offer. "Their frames allow you to custom-make shapes and designs," Richard explains. "I can hand-design a shape and apply it to the frames. That opens the door to doing custom work where I can base the shape of your frames on the shape of your face."
There's a huge emphasis on quality and hand craftsmanship at Lincoln Square Optical. Work to fit your lenses into your frames is done on the premises, to Richard's exacting standards. After sending out your prescription to a lab, Richard receives your lenses in the form of a sheet of plastic. He then needs to cut out the lens carefully and fit it precisely into the frame. "We do repairs, so we see a lot of mistakes that come out of the commercial optical shops," says Richard.
When you buy your eyewear at Lincoln Square Optical, you get only the best materials. Richard works with what are called high index lenses, which means that they are lighter and thinner than a basic lens. All of his lenses are automatically anti-reflective coated so people can see your eyes instead of a bright glare off your glasses. He won't sell anything without UV protection or scratch protection. "When you do a product-for-product comparison of what we sell and you look at the quality of the lenses and the quality of the frames, we charge much less than anyone else," explains Richard.
There's no doubt that Richard is a perfectionist. You can see that as he's out in front of his shop sweeping up the sidewalks every morning. And that perfectionism extends to his staff. Lincoln Square Optical has a doctor on staff, Dr. Breeze Feiler, who sees people for eye exams three days a week. She's originally from Wisconsin and studied in Chicago. Nassia is the cheerful assistant who helps run the shop. "She was a client first," says Richard. "We really liked her because she was always so fun and upbeat. And she's got a great European fashion sense. We thought it would be great to have her here on Saturdays to help out. When I called to ask her if she wanted to work for us, she was visiting family in Bulgaria. She started the day after she got back to Chicago." Nassia has been a great addition to the business—both Richard and the customers love having her around the shop. "She's picked everything up extremely well and is eager to learn more about the business," Richard says.
One reason why Richard is so good at what he does is that he's been in the optical business since 1974. He grew up just outside of Detroit in Harper Woods, Michigan. His family optometrist, Dr. Ed Wallace, got him interested in going to school to learn the trade. "When I got out of school, he told me he'd give me a job," says Richard. So he went to study optometry at Ferris State, a small college north of Grand Rapids. "I learned the craftsmanship there that you don't necessary learn today," he recalls. "I had to do it all by hand then. Now it's a computerized process." Dr. Wallace kept his promise and hired Richard to work in his two large practices located in Grosse Pointe and Birmingham, Michigan.
Eventually, Richard went on to buy a store of his own in Royal Oak, Michigan, a sleepy town outside of Detroit that gradually became a magnet for all things hip in the 1980s and early 1990s. He bought Eyedeas Optical in 1982, before anyone ever thought the town would be trendy. That's where he really started exploring the few fashion-oriented brands of eyewear that were around then. "I found that I really liked working with the fashion aspect of eyewear," says Richard. He started finding frames with more intricate designs that used fine tooling and non-traditional metals and plastics. In his spare time, Richard got involved with an auto racing team called Fleetwood Industries with driver Robert Slawinski. He was a fabricator who helped maintain the car for races. The team started running short track and them moved into the ARCA new cart division, a couple levels below NASCAR. "We raced at Daytona, Atlanta, Talladega," recalls Richard. "We were racing cars way before it was fashionable. Those were some of the best days of my life."
By 1995, Richard was ready to sell his shop in Michigan when he got the idea to open a business in Chicago. "I had a friend with a practice in the Loop who was helping me look for businesses that I could buy," he explains. After looking at a few places that weren't suitable, Richard heard a few friends talking about Lincoln Square. Once he visited, he knew that this was the right neighborhood for him. "It reminded me a lot of Royal Oak," he says. In 1996, Richard first opened Lincoln Square Optical across the street, then moved to the more spacious location where he is now. It's a testament to Richard that he has loyal customers that have followed him from Michigan to Chicago. "I have a few customers who knew me in Royal Oak and have now moved here and I have a few people who come in from Michigan to shop here," he says. Customers of Lincoln Square Optical come from everywhere. Its reputation brings in people from the neighborhood, the suburbs, from out-of-state, and even from Europe.
Not long after moving to Lincoln Square, Richard struck up a number of friendships with other business owners on Lincoln Avenue. He got involved with the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce and joined the Board of Directors. As the Promotions Chair, he worked with Freddie from the Chicago Brauhaus to organize the summer concerts. In 2000, he met Christine Luscher, then-owner of Salamander of Chicago through his work with the LSCC and the community. They started dating and now have been a couple for seven years. According to Richard, meeting Christine completely changed his outlook. "I look at life and business differently because of her," he explains. "Christine is my biggest supporter." As the owner of multiple businesses on the street, she contributes her insight to help Richard run Lincoln Square Optical. "She really helps out a lot," Richard says. "I respect her help more than she knows."
People looking for quality eye care and eyewear that will allow them to express themselves should come to Lincoln Square Optical. Richard offers a range of services that goes beyond simply providing new eyewear. The shop serves people who wear contact lenses, as well as those looking for non-prescription reading glasses or sunglasses. In fact, the shop sells lots of specialty active eyewear such as sports glasses for kids, glasses for golfers and cyclists, and even motorcycle goggles. If you have a pair of frames you love, Richard will do his best to fit them with a new prescription. He can also create custom clip-on sunglasses for them. "There are a lot of great products available today that make wearing glasses more fun," says Richard. "People today think of glasses much more as an accessory and part of fashion." Regardless of what you want, you can know that whatever comes out of Lincoln Square Optical is a product of Richard taking his time and doing things right. "We like to take on jobs that most practices won't take on," he explains. "For example, taking a prescription that really shouldn't fit into a particular frame and making it work. I look at it as a challenge. I like to push the envelope."
Lincoln Square Optical
4740 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
773.275.2900
www.lincolnsquareoptical.com
Hours:
Monday 10am to 6pm
Tuesday 10am to 3pm
Wednesday 10am to 7:30pm
Thursday - Friday 10am to 6pm
Saturday 10am to 3pm
Closed Sunday
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