Mother-Daughter Tandem From Ellington Opens Optical Shop In Hometown

ELLINGTON, CT — An Ellington resident with over 45 years of experience in the optical field has opened a second location of The Eyeglass Place, and has been joined in ownership by her daughter.

Karen Pizzitola, a Bangor, Maine native who has lived in Ellington for nearly 20 years, worked in management for various optical outlets for more than four decades. She became frustrated when every place she worked wound up being bought out by larger companies.

"I got real tired of having places that I really wanted to settle for my career got bought out by suits, hedge fund people," she said.

She decided to go into business for herself, buying the Newington location of The Eyeglass Place in 2019.

"At 62, I took out a loan and bought it," she said. "I had worked there as a teenager in the 1970s."

In late January, Pizzitola opened her second location in the Meadowview Plaza in her hometown, and brought in her daughter, Laura Alberto, as her partner.

"I grew up hanging around in the optical world, in fact she taught me how to use a lensometer," Alberto said. "When I got to age 18 and could work, I worked in the industry and have been in it ever since."

Located next to Key Bank in space formerly occupied by a convenience store, the new Eyeglass Place site fills a need in Ellington.

"There is no other place in town where the optical is the main focus," Alberto said.

The interior of the shop contains decor that is reflective of the farming community in which it is located. Paintings of barns, silos and other rural scenes adorn the walls, while much of the furniture consists of refurbished or converted pieces.

"A lot of the things that we got were secondhand and we either revamped them or made them," Alberto said. "A little coffee table was an actual kitchen table which we cut down to size. Our coffee bar was a hutch that we converted."

The duo offers a wide selection of hundreds of custom-fitted frames, lenses, computer glasses and sun eyewear. Pizzitola also specializes in custom protective eyewear for shooting sports enthusiasts.

In Ellington, The Eyeglass Place is open Mondays from noon to 7 p.m.; Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Most insurances are accepted.

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