DRAPER, Utah—1-800 Contacts has decided to end its test of the brick-and-mortar retail format Lumen Optical and will close the remaining three stores in the Chicago area by the end of the month, a 1-800 Contacts executive told VMAIL earlier this week. The service-oriented, boutique-like Lumen Optical format was “a test for us and we are now concluding the test,” 1-800 Contacts marketing director Laura Schmidt said in an email to VMAIL. She noted the three remaining brick-and-mortar stores are expected to close by the end of May. These three Lumen Optical stores are located outside of Chicago in Evanston, Kildeer and Mount Prospect, Ill. No other details were available.


The company opened the first Lumen Optical location in late 2016 and operated as many as four of the eyecare practices as of spring 2017. The fourth location opened in early 2017, as VMAIL reported, in the gentrifying Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago, on the west side of town.

The Lumen Optical stores are about 3,000 to 3,500 square feet and feature new in-store looks that Lumen said are part of its effort to rethink the optical experience, from the exam to choosing lenses, according to the Lumen Optical website at the time of the initial office’s opening. “The result is a high-service boutique environment without the next-day buyer’s remorse. Choose to browse our frames yourself, or pull up to the Frames Bar and relax while our trained stylists help you discover the perfect look. Because we make our own custom lenses in-house, you’ll have your new glasses in just 24 hours.”