TR PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY From left to right, Real Optics Vice President Kami Kinney, Floating Optician Jazmine Crilly and Optician Brisel Davalos pose inside the new Eyemart Optical store at 2414 S. Center St. Ste. 202 in Marshalltown.
Eyemart, an Iowa-based chain of optometry clinics, has been open at the old Papa Murphy’s Pizza location near the Marshalltown Mall since early October, but employees were excited to show off the new location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Tuesday , November 29.
Kami Kinney, vice president of Eyemart’s parent company, Real Optics, said they began considering Marshalltown about three years ago because their closest clinics were in Ames, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. Due to a personal relationship with someone who lived in the city, Kinney heard about old daddy Murphy’s space and started balling from there.
According to Kinney, the first month or so was a “very soft start,” while also training employees that they didn’t want to overwhelm them right away. However, now that they’re more mature, she’s ready to take Eyemart’s name public and reach more potential patients.
“Even though we’ve been here for a short time, the biggest thing we’ve noticed is that there aren’t a lot of exams. People are waiting a long time for eye exams, so we have the capacity to do eye exams almost every day,” Kinney said . “So it’s a big deal for us … we don’t want to disrupt the business here, but there are a lot of other towns here and it’s a central location for them to come from.”
Another major advantage of Eyemart is that one of its opticians, MHS graduate Brisel Davalos, is bilingual, and Kinney says they have a wide range of glasses that are relatively inexpensive at $50 to $500 a pair.
Eyemart is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5:30pm, Saturday by appointment. Kinney is excited to grow the business in Marshalltown and says people have been “amazed” so far. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place on November 1 at 4:30 p.m. On the 29th, the open day will last for a whole day.
To learn more about Eyemart, call 641-354-5690, visit eyemaropticaloutlet.com or visit 2414 S. Center St. Ste. 202.
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Contact Robert Mahari
at 641-753-6611 or
rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.