Business Spotlight: The Spectacle

By Marissa Rasch

Pictured left to right: Tracy Camp, Dr. Mary Vaughan, Niki Scott, Shawn Parker, Tracy Parker, Samantha LeBlanc

    Vision, as we all know, is a very important sense. The wonderful family at The Spectacle in Central make vision a priority! Shawn and Tracy Parker have been at The Spectacle a year come March. Tracy, the Optician, fits and sells the eyeglasses for their customers. After working at Ashley's Optical in Baker, she decided to open her own store. She is part owner with her husband Shawn, who worked at Demco for 20 years and then decided to leave and work with his wife. "If I'm going to work 70 hours a week, why not work for myself? I tried to convince Tracy to open her own optical, but she didn't want to do it by herself. So we said let's do it together!" Their daughter, who is a big help, also works along side them.
    Since they live in and are from Central, it made it easy to open here.  "We treat it like these are our guests that are invited to our home and I think people like that feeling when they come in. She's my best friend. It's she and I here together." Even though it's hard work, they love what they do! Shawn says, "Nothing gets me more excited than when a kid comes in and puts on those eyeglasses for the first time and realizes he can finally see!"  
    They have a wonderful eye doctor, Mary Vaughan, who has been practicing for 31 years and who recently came from Target after the flood hit Louisiana. She is there from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday. She is off on Monday and Friday. The Spectacle has a wide range of glasses and lenses. From Michael Kors to Kate Spade to Tom Ford. They have plenty of glasses for children and many pairs of sunglasses too. A general eye exam is roughly $60 unless you need contacts then it's about $100. For a bifocal fit, it's about $140. Then the cost of the glasses you choose.  They take all kinds of insurance and try to accomodate everyone. "It's fun to make people happy and see people smile," says Tracy. 
    They are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed on Sundays. They stay open until 7 p.m. during the week so you can make it in case you need eyeglasses right away! They are located at 14790 Wax RD Suite 107 Central, LA right next to Las Palmas and Johnny's Pizza! You can contact them at 225-421-1733! I'll be booking my appointment soon and you should too!