Seeing clearly

Paul Clinton

Ziggy Modnick has been selling glasses out of his cozy Via Lido shop

for more than 20 years.

Modnick can recall families that have bought frame-and-lens after

frame-and-lens and then brought their children in for glasses.

“It’s been such a joy to me,” Modnick said. “I’ve watched these

kids grow up.”

In 1981, Ziggy took a chance. After 27 years with Kaiser

Hospitals, he quit and bought a small optical shop in Newport Beach,

the Optical Fashion Center Newport, at 3417 Via Lido, and changed the

name. It has been Ziggy’s Optical ever since.

Word of mouth for his business is so good, he said, that 95% of

his business is repeat customers and referrals.

The simple formula of good prices and good quality, he said, has

been the key to his success. He also insists on employees that know

their trade.

As an eyewear salesman, Modnick is an optician, not an

ophthalmologist, an eye doctor with an M.D. or an optometrist, who

performs eye tests and sets prescriptions.

Selling fashionable frames is the bread and butter of Modnick’s

business, but he also does some “finishing” and tinting on the lenses

themselves. By using an in-house grinding machine, Modnick can add

scratch-resistant surfaces, fit the lens to the particular frame or

add ultra-violet coating.

They don’t sell any contact lenses.

He carries a long list of fashionable models, including Calvin

Klein, Armani, Valentino, Mikli, Cazal and Escada.

Colorful tinting, Modnick said, has become a popular new trend,

especially in fashion-conscious Newport Beach.

“Colors are really in,” Modnick said. “Optical is now like

clothing. The first thing people see is your eyewear.”

Modnick has two employees working for him, a lab technician and an

eyewear dispenser.

Ziggy has lived in Newport Beach since 1981, when he moved into a

condominium near the Blue Water Grill after leaving his L.A. home.

The 77-year-old Modnick lives there with his wife.