My life changed for the better when I finally paid Lakeside Optical a visit a couple years ago and met the man, the myth, the lens legend — Emmanuel. The instant joy and peace I felt was almost spiritual. Like, this is what I'd been missing as an adult? Emmanuel is patient, thoughtful, and has an almost unsettling ability to read what works for you better than you can yourself. He steered me past my usual boring picks and into frames I actually loved. I left feeling like a new person. Dramatic? Maybe. But good glasses will do that. Fast forward to today — imagine my devastation seeing his business listed as closed on Yelp. I wasn't ready to grieve. So in a moment of denial, I called the number anyway... Emmanuel answered. Of course he did. Turns out he’s between locations, and so he offered to meet me at the Peet's coffee shop in the Lakeshore Shopping Center — and showed up with a variety of frames already tailored to my facial features (sent him a selfie in advance). We spent 30 minutes picking out two pairs of glasses from the trunk of his car while I took selfies to audition each frame (was able to forward the selfies to my wife for some quick validation and to ensure Emmanuel hadn’t lost his touch). Honestly? The most fun I've ever had spending money. I think there’s some unique potential in setting up a mobile glasses dealing operation and I hope others are able to benefit from his unmatched kindness and his superb ability to offer tailored selections based on quality, style, and cost.
