Meet the Merchant: Carolyn Bott from The Vision Clinic

How Did You Get Started & What Inspired You to Open a Shop in Downtown Grimsby?

"The Vision Clinic was family-owned and operated right from the get go. They took a look at the town of Grimsby and they fell in love with it. They lived locally, and they decided this is a beautiful place to put down roots and open up and to serve a community that was and still is growing almost 30 years later."

Is there a story behind your business name or logo?

"We chose The Vision Clinic because it's not just an eyeglass clinic or a contact lens clinic or a sunglass clinic, it's all things to do with vision. It has to do with the health of your eye. People think of vision and they think of eyeglasses and fashion... more of, I guess an accessory. But in reality, they're medical devices and your vision is a huge aspect of your overall health."

What's one product or service you're especially proud of?

"I think the 2-for-1 promotion that we run is probably my favourite thing because you pay full price for one pair of glasses and then you get a second at no charge. Most people will end up going with a prescription sunglass which I think is so important. We wouldn't go outside in today's society without SPF on our skin but we forget to put it over our eyes all the time and I think the 2-for-1 promotion is a great opportunity for people to get some UV protection for their eyes."

Tell me about the selection of eye-ware and services you offer!

"We have a big selection of both prescription and non-prescription sunglasses as well as prescription eye-ware in the store. You can buy them off the shelf or we can customize them for you with your prescription. We also do contact lens fittings as well. We have a wide range of more feminine style frames and we have every designer brand that you could possibly think of. We have a pretty good selection of children's frames, everything from super bendy flexible frames to more cute and designer-y frames. We've got a great selection for kind of bigger bolder, more masculine styles too, everything from really sporty, something like with Nike over to something a little more high end like Tom Ford."

What's one thing people might not know about your business?

"We offer full eye exams here. We have an amazing optometrist that comes and joins us on site. His name's Dr. Theodore Hu. He is great with people. He spends his time and effort and energy not only performing the exam but explaining it to people as well. And we offer those eye exams for people of all ages."

What do you love most about what you do?

"I love connecting with people and I think that all of the staff at The Vision Clinic in Grimsby would say the same thing. We like to see people everyday and meet new people and see our friends that have come to see us year after year. I think that's probably the best part about being in the Grimsby community is there's so many amazing people that we get to see day in and day out."

You can find The Vision Clinic at 65 Main St. E, Grimsby