Brick and Mortar to click and order
Updated: Apr 8, 2022
Legacy of Hope has the privilege of partnering with some remarkable businesses and people through its Corporate Legacy Sponsor program. Omega Optical’s story is a perfect example of the exceptional people with whom we work. Read on to see why.
Navigating the stormy waters of retail can be a harrowing, often cataclysmic, experience for small businesses. But Steve and Tracy Davis, and their mom-and-pop, high-end eyecare boutique, Omega Optical, have weathered enough formidable storms over their 22 plus years in business to prove themselves more than capable as navigators. Through dogged perseverance, Omega Optical has become Philly’s first omni-channel luxury eyewear retailer. “We just didn’t know that we weren’t supposed to make it [past the first three years].” States Tracy in earnest.
Married for nearly 24 years, Steve and Tracy met at Virginia State in the late 90s. After graduating, Steve dabbled in eyewear franchises but found them too restrictive; then in June 2000 he started Omega Optical (with zero dollars) when he saw the need for eyecare in Philly’s African-American community, specifically in the city’s Cheltenham section, not far from where he grew up. Tracy shares that “Steve wanted a high-end, boutique, and friendly atmosphere in that neighborhood. So you wouldn’t need to travel all the way to King of Prussia.” When asked about starting Omega with zero dollars, Steve laughs and admits “We were pretty much building the airplane while learning to fly it.” And they forged ahead.
A year after starting, Omega Optical took a big hit to its bottom line after 9/11 because, as Steve remembers, “people just weren’t going out shopping.” Again he and Tracy persevered for several more years. Then came 2008, The Great Recession, and in spite of economic flux, the opening of Omega Optical