Lens Factory--a Good Place to Get Framed

About 30 years ago, when I was charged $320 for lenses for prescription glasses, I gave them up and used the $12 magnifiers available at the drugstore, because I needed magnifiers only for reading.

The discount eyeglass stores started to open in 1972, when Rip’s Vision Center in downtown Los Angeles was the first locally to undercut the high-priced dispensers--and prices dropped considerably. Chains such as Frame-N-Lens and Lens Crafters opened at many locations a few years later.

But I stayed with my half-moon magnifiers from the local pharmacy--until I discovered the Lens Factory in Glendale about a year and a half ago. For 18 years, it has been operating Acculite Laboratories, which dispenses lenses to opticians, ophthalmologists and optometrists. As the profit margins in wholesale shrank, owner Hank Schumer looked for another source of income.

He commissioned a random survey of 400 Glendale residents that showed--no surprise here--that more than 70% of those questioned said they would prefer to shop at a store where the quality of the eye wear was high and the price low.

So he opened the Lens Factory, a retail shop in the front of Acculite Laboratories, and the prices are about the lowest in town. Single-vision glasses are $24.95, and bifocals are $44.95. And that includes the frames.

The plastic frames, metal frames, half frames and full frames are mostly close-outs, samples or discontinued designs from the manufacturers. There are more than 800 from which to choose.

For the designer look of Oleg Cassini, Anne Klein, Cheryl Tiegs, Geoffrey Beane, Linda Evans, Camp Beverly Hills and Courreges, add $10 to the base price. If you want a specific designer frame, look on the inside of both temples in the one you want, write down the designer name and model number (if you can read it without your glasses), and chances are, the Lens Factory can order it for 50% to 75% off retail.

Because it is still primarily an optical lab, no eye exams are given at the Lens Factory, and it does not make contact lenses. All the work--calculating, grinding, polishing and edging (cutting the lens to fit the frame)--is done on the premises.

The Price Club is now dispensing eyeglasses at $29 for single-vision lenses, but without the frames; bifocals are $46, again without the frames. So the Lens Factory beats the Price Club, which is going some.

I have talked about the Lens Factory on my KGIL radio show almost every Saturday for the last year, and I have yet to receive one legitimate complaint.

The Lens Factory, 206 E. Wilson Ave., (818) 240-5757. Open 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Cash or check, Visa or MasterCard are accepted.