MANAYUNK

By Megan Douress

Photography by Susan Beard Design

Walking into The Eyeglass Works at 4407 Main Street is like getting the red carpet treatment. Jack and Jane Goldberg truly treat their clients to like celebrities upon entry with a “Have a seat!” followed by a completely personalized shopping experience — as if no one else is in the store with you.

A handful of eyewear comes your way and is placed on the table in front of you. You’re asked to try on the first pair. “How do you feel about this shape? Do you like the color? How about we try this pair? Does this match your personal style?” These are just a few questions Jack and Jane may ask you during your one-on-one with the owners of the friendly shop.

“We’ll bend over backwards for our clients,” Jack said.

The husband and wife duo are no strangers to the stylish retail scene in Manayunk. The veterans started calling Main Street home in 1983, when they opened The Eyeglass Works.

“There was a beer distributor across the street and there was the Canal View Inn, and that was it. There was nothing here!” Jack remembered.

“We took a different approach,” he added. “We took an approach that was more unique, higher end, quality products. This didn’t happen overnight. Time went by and we developed a nice reputation.”

That reputation comes from a lifelong career in the business of eyewear. In 1971, Jack founded an affordable eyewear company called For Eyes with a group of friends. After much success, Jack and his brother sold the company in 1980 and opened a lens factory on Tower Street. The factory distributed to most of the East Coast and even had a small outlet store inside.

“Manayunk was really vacant, but somebody who owned property saw me at our outlet and asked me if I’d like to open up a store on Main Street,” Jack said. “There was nothing on Main Street and he wanted a retail business. I decided I wanted to do something else with my career, so I opened the store on Main Street with my wife, Jane.”

Some may say Jack and Jane are partially responsible for the revitalization of Manayunk when they opened their storefront 34 years ago. The high-end business brought in clients from Chestnut Hill, the Main Line, and other affluent neighborhoods. Soon, it became a “hub,” as Jack referred to it.

“Manayunk was thriving and fortunately, through the ups and downs, we’ve maintained, and we still maintain,” Jack said.

These days, Jack and Jane bring in quality eyewear from all over the world. They focus on selling unique, more cutting edge handmade styles. Jane even goes to Europe — typically France and Italy — twice a year to buy. Some of their more local favorite brands of eyewear include Anne & Valentin from New York and LA Eyeworks from, you guessed it, Los Angeles.

“[LA Eyeworks] started a year or two before we did,” Jane said. “They actually came into the store to thank us for selling their frames!”

As one may assume, Jane is the resident styling expert at The Eyeglass Works with a lot of help from one of her employees, Denise Boyer. They’ll first look at the client’s face shape, their overall style, and even the career of her client when finding the perfect pair of glasses for them.

“If they’re a lawyer, you want something a little bit more conservative — intelligent,” Jane said.

Jane and Denise look at facial structures, too, like the size of their nose and where the eyes are set on their face. If someone wants to de-emphasize their nose, they’ll pick a pair that sits lower on the bridge. And when her customer has a smaller nose, they’ll select a pair that sits higher on their bridge to make it more prominent.

But with the changing times, Jane admits that styling her clients doesn’t always come easy, even with an inventory of 2,000 frames to choose from.

“The process used to be square face, put a frame with a soft edge. Round face, don’t use a round frame. Oval is the perfect face — you can put anything on it,” Jane explained. “But things have changed. People want different styles, different colors, different shapes.”

“A lot of people have small faces, so we have to find frames that fit their face, but that’s not really the style right now,” Jack added. “We try to get as many small frames as we can.”

And while finding the perfect fit is one thing, channeling her clients’ personal style — and keeping up with the current fashion — is a whole different animal. Jane explained that chunky, black matte frames had a moment, but with summer just around the corner, color is the next big thing.

“We all wear colorful frames here,” Jane said. “The chunky frames are still very popular, but we’re also seeing smaller, round, metal frames gaining popularity. When we first started, it was mostly metal. Now, it’s coming back. It’s almost like anything goes.”

And before heading to the shore this summer, Jane will style you with the perfect pair of shades as well.

“Go bigger with sunglasses — a frame that you wouldn’t normally wear as a regular frame,” Jane encouraged. “People go a little wild with sunglasses, but you can!”

The Eyeglass Works truly has something for everyone — Jack and Jane make sure of it. After all, they say the quality of their products and their service is what keeps them going, and they can’t do it without their loyal clients.

“We have frames and lenses for every generation,” Jack said. “Our clients come in and they know what they want, and we do our best to accommodate their needs and their price points. Once you become our client, you stick with us because you know we’re going to have the best products.”