(L to R) Thomas Sczepanski, OD, Noel Arackal, OD, and Seth Manke, OD.

GREEN BAY, Wis.—Shopko Optical,  a leading Midwest optical retailer, has completed a busy few months with several new optometrist hires and the addition of a new Illinois location. Shopko Optical, which was spun out of the 2019 bankruptcy of Shopko Stores, has provided eyecare services across the Midwest and Upper Midwest communities for over 40 years. Shopko Optical, which operates more than 80 locations, is the trade name of Shoptikal LLC, an affiliate of Monarch Alternative Capital LP. Monarch acquired Shopko Optical during bankruptcy proceedings in mid-2019, as VMAIL reported.

The company opened its newest optical location earlier this month in Huntley, Ill., with Michael Strasser, OD, as the on-site optometrist, according to a recent announcement. “We are thrilled to open this new center in Huntley and be a part of its community,” Russ Steinhorst, Shopko Optical chief executive officer, said in the announcement.

Among the company’s new OD hires in Wisconsin are Noel Arackal, OD, who is assigned to the retailer’s Madison West center; Thomas Sczepanski, OD, who joins Shopko Optical’s Rice Lake center, and Seth Manke, OD, who will be seeing patients at the retailer’s Eau Claire optical center.

Born and raised in Prospect, Ill., Dr. Arackal graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry. Dr. Sczepanski, who also graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry, was born and raised in Hayward, Wis., Dr. Manke, another graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry, hails from Westby, Wis.