by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Sometimes a Downtown business has a long history. Sometimes it’s the location that has the heritage. In the case of Crawford-Wilcox Opticians, it’s both.
Harlan Crawford opened his eyeglass shop inside Kay Jewelers shortly after the end of World War II. After several years there, he moved to Adams Street where he sold and fitted eyeglasses in the back of the Knickerbocker Barber Shop next door to the Roosevelt Hotel, which is now The Carling apartments.
“Wilcox” was added to the business’s name in 1982 when Registered Optician John Wilcox, who was working at the Optical Shop at Sears at the time, decided to strike out on his own and buy the business from Crawford. He decided to keep Crawford’s name in the business as a nod to the history and the many clients and friends the founder had developed over the years.
The current address at 47 W. Adams St. is Wilcox’s third with the shop moving one door away from Main Street each time the street number changed. Wilcox said quite a bit of history has taken place on the block including being the stomping grounds of one of Downtown’s most colorful characters.
“He was known as ‘Bernie the Man in Green’ because he dyed his hair with food coloring,” said Wilcox. “He lived in the penthouse on the roof of the old Florida National Bank Building and he’d walk his chihuahua over to his oyster bar that was right here in this block. It was quite a place. He painted the sidewalk green like his hair and the oyster bar was open to the street. It was made of tile so he could just hose it off at the end of the night. There was also a big banquet room and a bar in the back.”
After inheriting the next generation of Harlan Crawford’s optical customers, Wilcox has continued the tradition and now makes and fits glasses for the children and grandchildren of his first clients. He said one reason having a small business with a Downtown location has been successful is because his overhead expenses are low. Wilcox runs the shop himself and has no employees. Having an optometrist just around the corner on Laura Street also helps, making it convenient for people to bring their prescriptions to him to have their eyeglasses made. Many of his customers work Downtown and pick up their new glasses or contact lenses on their lunch hour or on their way home after work.
Wilcox said he thinks the biggest key to his longevity is being able to provide personal service and build relationships while offering competitive prices, even when compared to the “big box” optical operations.
“When you go to an eyeglass shop in a mall you don’t get to deal with an optician. You’re dealing with a salesperson who is on commission and they don’t know how to help you choose the frame style that will work best with your prescription,” he said.
Another niche that Wilcox fills is hard to make glasses, especially for children and infants. He also offers one-day service and makes house calls to adult living facilities from time to time.
“I think it makes sense to do business with an independent optician. I can make a complete pair of eyeglasses for as little as $45 – bifocals start at $65,” he said.
As he looked back on his career from the first time he ground a glass lens in a small shop on Main Street, Wilcox remarked, “I’ve been lucky and I’ve been blessed and I enjoy being Downtown.”
Crawford-Wilcox Opticians is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Wednesday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon. Appointments are not necessary.
356-2466