WEST PITTSTON — Eye Care Specialists has only been in the borough since April 18, but residents made the staff members feel right at home.
An open house was held on April 28 to celebrate the business’s arrival and featured food, raffles and intermingling amongst the staff and borough residents.
West Pittston office manager Shelly DeNardi called the response from the community overwhelming.
“It’s nice because a lot of people are walking in saying they couldn’t wait for us to be here,” she said. “It’s nice to have something close to them, and they’re really welcoming. It’s just really nice.”
Eye Care Specialists arrived to West Pittston from its original address of 155 Wyoming Ave. in Wyoming where it was located since the 1970s.
Its current address is 170 Boston Ave.
After the Great Wall Chinese Resturant closed off half of their business, the office space was available for rent and it fit the needs of what Eye Care Specialists was looking for.
“More space was needed,” said Andrew Zubko, business and financial services administrator and chief financial officer. “We also needed a busier location, and this is a nice location. We also needed better customer access.”
The staff includes DeNardi, Cheryl Summa, community relations and marketing director; Deborah McElwee, optician; Luann Degnan, technician; Dr. Robert Blase, O.D.; and Dr. Bethany Jones, O.D.
The West Pittston location includes seven shelves of frames, an eye testing room, a contact lens training room to teach patients to put in contacts, two exam rooms, two offices and a main lobby.
Patients can call and schedule appointments or walk in, which DeNardi said has already seen a significant increase since moving to West Pittston.
“We’ve received an amazing amount of walk-ins,” she said. “I had seven people tug on the door when we were closed for the afternoon the other day.”
Its hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays and Fridays, noon to 4 p.m. on alternating Saturdays and closed on Sundays.
DeNardi said increased customer demand may cause a change in the hours.
“What we have now I’m kind of thinking is going to expand on when we’re going to be able to open,” she said. “Right now we’re closed on Wednesday afternoons, but I kind of see us opening eventually on Wednesday afternoon. And we’re only here every other Saturday, but I see that changing down the road too, because of the response (from customers.)”
Other locations places Eye Care Specialists is located are Berwick, Bloomsburg, Dallas, Hazleton, Kingston, Nanticoke, Scranton, and Forty Fort.
As far as being new residents in West Pittston, staff members of Eye Care Specialists believe they will be able to help customers faster and more efficiently.
“There is probably less wait times and it’ll be easier to make appointments because of the expanded size of the office,” said Zubko. “We’re looking forward to better customer service and being able to serve local patients.”
