The friendly crew at Eyewear Express has a new, modern location in the Peninsula Center Mall. The new spacious Eyewear Express owned by Marty and Amy Hanson now houses some latest state of the art eye exam equipment that is operated by Dr. Brad Cross, OD. With the recent earthquake some of the new frame displays toppled over but Hanson told the Dispatch it could have been worse given the nature of his business, “We made out real well, we lost some Maui Jim’s when a couple of display cases fell over, but by and large most of our things stayed on the wall and losses were minimal,” he said. The new location is about twice the size of the former Eyewear Express, “We started small but as you would hope with quality service we grew and now are not only more comfortable and spacious for our clients but twice as many frames on display or more we have about a thousand now on the walls and Dr. Cross has a lot more space in his examination room so he was able to bring in the new equipment that adds to his eye exam capabilities that is a great asset for his patients and helping them see better. Like the new keratographic topographer that is great for dry eye analysis and infrared photographs,” said Hanson.

The Eyewear Express slogan “You expect the best from Eyewear Express,” is more than a slogan to Hanson and Dr. Brad Cross. While waiting for an interview Hanson was with a senior citizen who had been looking for new glasses when Marty asked if he’d like him to fix the old pair he was wearing, “Oh they told me these couldn’t be fixed and I had to buy a new pair!” Marty replied, “You got a minute?” And in less than that minute returned and fitted the old frames to the customer who was ecstatic and proclaimed, “Well I don’t need new glasses now! But, when I do I’ll be sure to back here.” At a recent trunk show at the new store Eyewear Express showcased about 1,000 new frames the highlight of which was the Gwen Stefani frame collection that was on display for the first time in all of Alaska at the Soldotna Eyewear Express new store, “It was an exclusive for us and our customers loved it,” said Hanson. Frame shopping at Eyewear Express is fun whether you need new glasses or not, “Part of that show and our inventory is for that reason and folks that love to look and shop. We’ve got the Gwen Stefani frames in stock so if you see one you like you can buy it or write down the information so that when you need new frames we’ll keep that information for you on file and when you decide you want it we’ll have it available for you,” said Hanson. Marty, Amy and Janelle invite you to stop by the new Eyewear Express next time you’re in the Mall and browse their expanded facility and selection of frames. For an appointment with Optometrist Dr. Brad Cross for an eye examination or check up call 907-260-9199.