Over eighty years ago, our founder, Jack Cohen, pioneered a new philosophy in the retail eyewear business. His vision was that everyone who needed prescription eyeglasses wanted to look better, see better, and feel better about themselves. With this in mind, fashion eyewear (today known as designer eyewear) was introduced into the market. Providing the best quality products, the finest customer service and the greatest product value were also key characteristics of this new concept.

So, in 1927, Cohen’s began to sell fashion eyewear from a pushcart among New York’s famous Orchard Street merchants. This “ahead of its time” optical retail concept was immediately successful and quickly grew into a storefront operation on the corner of Orchard and Delancey Streets, featuring the only fashion eyewear to be found in New York. Cohen’s Fashion Optical quickly became a New York City retail landmark. Today, there are over one hundred Cohen’s Fashion Optical stores in major malls and convenient city locations.