We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary Demirjian. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary below.

Mary, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Innovation comes in all shapes, sizes and across all industries, so we’d love to hear about something you’ve done that you feel was particularly innovative.

When you think of an Optometrist or an eye examination, there are certain expectations. What typically comes to mind are a sterile, medical office, the air puff machine, and hundreds of glasses to try on.

When you enter Wide Eye Optometry and WE Lounge, you instantly know that you are not in a typical Optometry office.

You are instantly mesmerized by the scent of coffee and the art deco meets Tulum decor. Wide Eye Optometry is a full service Optometry and boutique optical merged with a full serve coffee bar, WE (Wide Eye) Lounge.

You can enjoy one of the many eye-themed coffee creations while you wait for your eye examination. WE Lounge is also a space to work, study, and hang-out with friends.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the owner and chief Optometrist at Wide Eye Optometry Encino (Encino, CA), Wide Eye Optometry Newhall (Newhall, CA), and Mezmer-Eyez Optometry (Palmdale, CA).

I knew that I wanted to become an Optometrist since high school. I had a close friend in high school with a congenital retinal condition, Retinitis Pigmentosa. This condition causes night blindness and a loss of peripheral vision. Having 20/20 vision myself, I wanted to help others see the way I did.

When opening my third location, Wide Eye Optometry/WE Lounge (Newhall, CA), I wanted to do something different. I had the innovative concept of combining both of my passions, optometry and coffee. We source all of our coffee and baked goods locally and love supporting other small businesses.

Every person to enter the establishment is curious and intrigued by the concept. I also have a passion for interior design and fashion. I designed all three of my offices and the coffee shop. I also design handbags and small leather accessories for my brand, GiJiL Collection, which are sold online and at the Newhall location.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

The most effective source for growing my clientele has been word of mouth and reviews. We strive to provide outstanding customer service in everything that we do. We send all of our patients a survey after they have visited our offices to ensure we are always providing an exceptional experience. Also, we ask our clients that visit the coffee shop to leave their feedback on Yelp or Google Reviews. This allows for those that search for our services to see what type of experience to expect at Wide Eye Optometry, Mezmer-Eyez Optometry, and WE Lounge.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The most effective source for growing my clientele has been word of mouth and reviews. We strive to provide outstanding customer service in everything that we do. We send all of our patients a survey after they have visited our offices to ensure we are always providing an exceptional experience. Also, we ask our clients that visit the coffee shop to leave their feedback on Yelp or Google Reviews. This allows for those that search for our services to see what type of experience to expect at Wide Eye Optometry, Mezmer-Eyez Optometry, and WE Lounge.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wideeyeoptometry.com
• Instagram: @weo_encino @wideeyeoptometry @mezmereyezoptometry @wideeyelounge @gijilcollection
• Facebook: Wide Eye Optometry Encino – Mary Demirjian, O.D., Wide Eye Optometry, Mezmer-Eyez Optometry, Wide Eye – WE Lounge, GiJiL Collection