Looking Good
Finally! Online eyeglass favorite Warby Parker has plans for The Heights
Warby Parker, the online eyeglasses retailer known for its hip looks and charitable bent, has finally made plans to come to Houston. Once slated for River Oaks District, the retailer has selected the Heights Mercantile mixed-use development for its first Bayou City outpost, the Dallas Morning News reports.
A Warber Parker representative confirmed the company is coming to Houston. Although the store doesn't have a specific opening date, it should arrive before the end of 2017.
The merchant will join a number of first-to-market stores coming to Heights Mercantile, including San Francisco-based knitwear maker Marine Layer, clothing store Saint Lo Boutique, and "modern day general store" The Gypsy Wagon. Restaurants slated for the development include Houston's fifth outpost of upscale sandwich purveyor Local Foods, a permanent home for Melange Creperie, and a second location of Cloud 10 Creamery.
Founded in 2010 and named for two characters in Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac's journal, Warby Parker has been called the "Netflix of Eyewear" by GQ magazine because it designs and manufactures its own eyewear to keep expenses down (most of its stylish frames sell for less than $100) and sells them directly to consumers online. For every pair sold, the company donates a pair of glasses to people in need through the nonprofit VisionSpring.
The Houston location will join two locations in Austin and two in Dallas. The company also announced plans to add stores in Plano and Fort Worth.