Popular retail chain opening first Lehigh Valley location this weekend at Lehigh Valley Mall – The Morning Call
The opening of the Lehigh Valley Mall’s newest tenant is in sight.
Eyewear retailer Warby Parker, offering “high-quality eyeglasses, sunglasses, contacts, and eye exams at an affordable price,” will open its first Lehigh Valley location Saturday at the mall’s outdoor lifestyle center.
The space previously housed handbags and accessories brand Coach.
“We’re so excited to continue to expand in Pennsylvania with our sixth location in the state and first in Whitehall,” an announcement reads. “As a one-stop shop, our Lehigh Valley Mall location will offer an easier and more convenient option for the Whitehall community to access all of their vision care needs, just in time for the new year.”
The new store will offer eye exams and carry the company’s full sun and optical eyewear offerings, including its new Spring 2022 and Sculpted Series collections, launching Feb. 8, along with the retailer’s first brand of daily contact lenses, Scout by Warby Parker, as well as third-party contacts.
“We’ve also teamed up with local artist Marian Bailey to create a custom mural for the store, which will be available as a limited edition gift-with-purchase print to celebrate the store’s opening,” the announcement continues.
Warby Parker, which originally launched online in 2010 and has since expanded to more than 150 locations across the United States and Canada, “pioneers ideas, designs products, and develops technologies that help people see” — from designer-quality prescription glasses (starting at $95) and contacts to eye exams and vision tests available online and in stores, according to a message on the business’ website.
Customers also can see themselves in their favorite frames through Warby Parker’s Home Try-On program (allowing you to take a quiz to find five frames to try), as well as a Virtual Try-On tool in the Warby Parker app (allowing you to try on glasses wherever and whenever with an iPhone X and above).
Headquartered in New York City, the company was founded with a mission “to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style.” It aims to demonstrate that businesses can be profitable and do good in the world “without charging a premium for it.”
The mission stems from the experiences of its founders, including one who lost his glasses on a backpacking trip and couldn’t replace them due to the high cost. He’d spend his first semester of graduate school without them, squinting and complaining.
“Warby Parker was started to create an alternative,” a message on the business’ website reads. “By circumventing traditional channels, designing glasses in-house, and engaging with customers directly, we’re able to provide higher-quality, better-looking prescription eyewear at a fraction of the going price.”
The brand “believes in vision for all,” and through its “Buy a Pair, Give a Pair” program, it distributes a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair of glasses or sunglasses sold. To date, Warby Parker has partnered with nonprofit organizations to hand out more than eight million pairs of glasses to individuals in need.
The opening of the area’s first Warby Parker location will follow last weekend’s opening of Almost Vegan Pescatarian Cafe, serving pescatarian, vegan and plant-based dishes along with organic smoothies, on the Lehigh Valley Mall’s upper level.
Husband and wife co-owners Anthony and Nadia Alexander originally opened their eatery in July 2020 at the former Yocco’s hot dog shop at 627 W. Liberty St. in Allentown.
The couple decided to move operations to the Whitehall Township mall for more space and foot traffic, Nadia said.
Almost Vegan and Warby Parker join several other new Lehigh Valley Mall tenants, including Aslan Jewelers; fast-casual burger chain Shake Shack; fashion retailers Ardene, Big Bank Couture, Harlem Vibes and Little TrenzSetters Boutique; Mama Jojo 1-Stop Shop, selling African, Caribbean and Latino clothing and accessories; Pepper Palace, selling all-natural, small-batch hot sauces, salsas, seasonings and more; and Slime Time, allowing children of all ages to make their own slime.
Prominent mall departures throughout the pandemic included Modell’s Sporting Goods, Yankee Candle, casual dining restaurants Frites and Ruby Tuesday, clothing chains Abercrombie & Fitch and New York & Company, footwear retailers Aldo and Clarks and jewelry chains Helzberg Diamonds and Littman Jewelers.
Additionally, The Disney Store, a mall staple of nearly 25 years, closed in September.
