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Citing
need to grow, Eye 1 moving store to Oakwood
The giant green eyeglasses on the south end of town will soon vanish,
after Eye 1 closes its Yellow Springs business at the end of this week.
At that time the optical store will move to its new location at 2319 Far
Hills Avenue in Oakwood.
Convenience and a desire for growth led to the move, said co-owner David
Brown.
The new site will be more convenient because it lessens the time Brown
spends in his car moving between Eye 1 locations, he said. Since Brown
and his partners opened an Eye 1 in Cincinnati — they also have a
store in Columbus — he has been traveling back and forth between
the Yellow Springs and Cincinnati locations five days a week. The drive
between Cincinnati and Oakwood saves about 25 minutes each way, he said.
Since the opening of the Cincinnati store, Eye 1’s business in Yellow
Springs decreased about one third, said Brown, since so many customers
had travelled from Cincinnati to the village. The drop in business here
led to a need to increase sales, and the owners of Eye 1 decided to move
to a more populated area. Currently, said Brown, about 65 percent of the
Yellow Springs store’s business comes from Dayton customers.
“We’re going to miss Yellow Springs,” said Brown. “It’s
a lovely place. But we’re needing to grow.”
Eye 1 is modeled after a “European optical store,” Brown said,
and offers a variety of optical equipment, including eyeglasses, telescopes,
opera glasses, binoculars and magnifiers.
The store specializes in high-end eyewear, which Brown describes as “face
jewelry — art for your face.” While most optical stores carry
approximately the same product, Eye 1 carries a wide variety of unusual
eyewear, many from European manufacturers.
The store’s unique eyewear attracts customers from all over the world,
said Brown. For instance, one customer last week came from Montreal and
another from Manhattan.
A native of Springfield, Brown opened the store 24 years ago. It employs
four full-time people and one part-time, one of whom lives in Yellow Springs.
All of the employees will move to the Oakwood store.
The Eye 1 building, which is owned by Brown and his partners, is currently
available for rent.
—Diane
Chiddister
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