Chhajer Optical Company

Broadway is a hectic place to work, especially at No. 220 near Francis Joseph Street. The noise of the horns and the people walking by never really stops. We spend our time looking at lenses and frames. It’s quiet inside the shop compared to the street, which is a relief. We have all sorts of glasses tucked away in drawers and on the display racks. Some of the equipment we use for checking eyes has been with us for a long time. People come in with broken frames or needing a new prescription, and we just take care of it. The floor is a bit worn down from all the foot traffic over the years. We usually have the radio playing softly in the background to drown out the street sounds. My glasses are always getting smudged because I’m handling lenses all day. It’s a bit of a family atmosphere here, even if we aren’t all related. We know many of our customers by name because they’ve been coming to us for decades. Broadway has changed a lot, but we’re still here in the same spot. We don't do anything fancy, just give people what they need so they can see better. When the sun sets, we lock up the cabinets and head out into the Francis Joseph Street crowd to go home.