Oxford residents will soon be singing, “I can see clearly now. . .” thanks to the Michigan Eye Institute Optical LLC. opening Monday, Aug. 4.
Located at 53 S. Washington St. (across from Oxford Bank), the 1,500-square-foot eye care facility is the third satellite office for MEI, which is based in Flint and has branches in Fenton and Lapeer.
“We’ll be offering quality eyewear and contact lenses at affordable prices with personalized service,” said MEI Practice Administrator Brian Hayes, who’s lived in Oxford for 14 years. “This facility will specialize in designer, quality eyewear at great prices.”
The Oxford facility will stock more than 400 frames, ranging from $50 to $275, including designer name brands such as Hugo Boss, Christian Dior, Ralph Loren, Polo and Elle.
Various types of eyewear will be available such as sunglasses, kids glasses and sports glasses.
MEI Optical LLC. specializes in “titanium eyewear” that’s “lightweight, doesn’t corrode and is extremely durable.”
“We have a very diverse product line,” Hayes said. “We don’t really mark our products up like chain stores. We don’t tend to have sales because our pricing is very, very modest and extremely competitive in the marketplace.”
As for contact lenses, MEI Optical LLC offers daily-ware disposals, extended-ware, colored-lenses and special “toric lenses” for people with astigmatism, who are typically “hard to fit” for contact lenses.
But MEI Optical LLC is more than just a place to purchase eyewear, Hayes said it’s also “a comprehensive eye care facility for patients of all ages” that will offer “routine exams to detect, and in some cases, monitor and treat eye diseases.”
Optometrist Ann Marie Kautz will be based at the facility. She’s a graduate of the Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University and has served as a clinical instructor at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in the Department of Optometry and Vision Science.
“All of our opticians are board certified with 15-plus years of experience,” Hayes said.
“More complicated eye diseases would be referred to our ophthalmologists in Lapeer,” he said.
MEI’s broad range of services includes no-stitch cataract surgery, laser vision correction, radial keratotomy, glaucoma care, diabetic care, macular degeneration care, pediatric eye care, dry eye treatment, eyelid surgery and low vision aids.
“The laser vision correction is performed at our Flint facility and we do surgery out of Lapeer Regional Hospital,” Hayes said.
When asked why MEI Optical LLC decided to expand into Oxford, Hayes replied, “I’ve been in the optical business for 20 years and I’ve been watching this community grow and grow and grow for at least the last 10 years. I realized it needs somebody to service the new population. There’s definitely a need for it. We hope to be able to fulfill it.”
“Most people (in this area) go out of town for their eye-wear,” Hayes explained. “They go to ‘fast food’ eyewear places where you don’t see the same people. They go from one place to the next every year.”
“What we’re trying to build here is a community-oriented facility,” he said. “You’ll see the same faces. You’ll get the same doctor on a continuous basis.”
Hayes said the Oxford facility plans to be “very active in the community,” especially when it comes to fund-raisers for the school district.
“We’re supporting a Band Boosters function on Sept. 6,” he said.
MEI Optical LLC will host a Grand Opening during Celebrate Oxford on Saturday, Aug. 23.
“We’ll have an open house where people can come in and check us out,” Hayes said. “There will be a booth on the sidewalk with refreshments and drawings for $100 gift certificates for eyewear, sunglasses or contact lenses.”
MEI Optical LLC is open Monday 10 a.m.- 7 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday 8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m..
For more information or an appointment call (248) 236-9379.