2228 Wilton Drive
Wilton Manors, FL 33305
954-563-2499
chicoptique.net
By PHOEBE MOSES
You couldn’t tell at first glance, but the staff at Chic Optique combines over 100 of experience in the eyewear business. It must be all that clean living, with an ownership philosophy that’s as simple as it is meritorious. “Always give back to our community,” says Karen Carroll, who, with partner Julie Slater, owns the landmark Chic Optique in the heart of Wilton Manors downtown area.
“We always wanted to live in the area,” recalls Carroll. Eyewear would play a part in the couple’s life from the get-go. When the couple met 15 years ago, Carroll had just relocated from New York and was looking for parttime work. An ad in a local gay rag led Carroll to apply at a local optician. That’s where she met Slater, a Florida native. They became friends and, later, partners.
The couple opened Chic Optique in the Shoppes of Wilton Manors in February 2003. “We wanted to work and live in Wilton Manors and be part of this great community where we feel at home,” Carroll remembers. Their business model included competitive pricing, having a large selection in stock, and translating that sense of “community” into their customer dealings. Carroll emphasizes how critical it is for customers to feel cared for. “We want to have people feel completely comfortable in our office and treat them like family, and back that with great service and care,” explains Carroll.
Part of that customer service model involves having the right staff. Eddie Fiorenza, who worked with Slater and Carroll in the late 1990s, came with them to Chic Optique nine years ago. “We couldn’t do it without our staff, the Chic Optique family,” says Carroll with feeling. “Eddie Fiorenza, Marcus Rowe: they give so much to our community every day.”
In that spirit of giving to the community, the women of Chic Optique have a commendable history of supporting service organizations and charities that contribute to the well-being of the local LGBT community.
A much abbreviated list of their service organizing beneficiaries includes Poverello Food Bank and Thrift Store, Broward House, Care Resource, the Smart Ride, and Tuesday’s Angels.
“We try to help any group when we can, and admire so many in our community for doing so much,” says Carroll with real appreciation. “Julie and I feel blessed we can be a part of that involvement in giving. It gives us a chance to make a difference in our own, small way in people’s lives.”
The partners say they would like to build upon that foundation of customer service and community service in the coming year. “We want to continue to have the best selection of eyewear for every budget. We want to improve our business and be innovators in our field by using the latest lenses and technology for the best vision and fit.”
The partners say they would like to build upon that foundation of customer service and community service in the coming year. “We want to continue to have the best selection of eyewear for every budget. We want to improve our business and be innovators in our field by using the latest lenses and technology for the best vision and fit.”
Chic Optique, in the Shoppes of
Wilton Manors, is located at 2228
Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL
33305. -954-567-3937 or at
www.chicoptique.net.