By AMY ADAMS
news@readthereporter.com
Alternate View celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, Jan. 30. Located in Carmel City Center, across from Cake Bake, the new business welcomed community members for drinks, hors d’oeuvres, giveaways, and permanent jewelry from Honey.
“I’m very moved by the number of people who wanted to come and be here and share this experience with us,” Owner Mollie Tavel Kaback said.
If the name Tavel sounds familiar to you, it’s because Kaback’s father, Dr. Larry Tavel, and her uncle, Dr. Alan Tavel, co-own more than 20 Dr. Tavel Family Eyecare locations throughout the state. In fact, the family’s experience in eyecare goes back to Kaback’s grandfather, Dr. David Tavel, who opened Dr. Tavel’s Premium Optical in Indianapolis nearly 85 years ago.
“I’m thrilled for her,” Larry Tavel said.
Dr. Larry Tavel celebrates the success of his daughter Mollie Tavel Kaback at the grand opening of her new eye care boutique, Alternate View. (Reporter photo by Amy Adams)
To Alternate View, Kaback brings her own wealth of experience in eye care and health care through her family’s business, through pharmaceuticals, and through working with EssilorLuxotica, the largest lens manufacturer in the world.
However, Kaback also brings a whole new perspective in eye care to the Carmel and greater Indianapolis area: Eye care as self-care.
“In the Millennial, Gen X, and Gen Z generations, people are already prioritizing time and investment in the self-care realms,” Kaback said. “Bringing those same elements into the eye care realm feels like something that should have already happened. It’s really a missed opportunity.”
For Kaback the tie is simple.
“We need to change the perception of eye care as a fun, relaxing, enjoyable, and fashionable experience,” she said.
Kaback hopes that customers will experience “the most positive form of shock and excitement” when they enter Alternate View.
“At its core, it just looks and feels completely different from what you would expect,” she said.
Optometrists at Alternate View provide adult clients a thorough vision care experience that not only results in a prescription, but also a robust, complimentary dry eye evaluation.
“Suffering from dry eye is just so unnecessary,” Kaback said. “If it doesn’t have to happen, then let us help you figure out how to kick it to the curb.”
With a focus on addressing dry eye, Alternate View offers research-backed treatments that include Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) therapy and Radiofrequency (RF) treatments, among others.
However, Alternate View takes the eye care experience to the next level with treatments not just for the eyes, but for the skin around the eyes and the face, as well. Experts offer consultations for eyelash growth and for temporary, non-invasive eyelid lifting with specialized drops.
“We have many of the same elements as a spa,” Kaback said. “We want to be able to create an experience where you can address your total face in a single experience, from topical creams and serums to eye care and the eyewear that goes on your face, all with providers you know and trust. We want to shift perception around eye care to really move people to recognize it in the same realm as skin care and fashion.”
And speaking of fashion, Alternate View features a collection of more than 600 unique frames, most of which aren’t available anywhere else in the area. Beyond that, the boutique model means that Alternate View offers custom frame design services to help customers craft the frames they want at a reasonable price. Not only that, but Alternate View stylists help clients create curated eyewear collections that fit every aspect of their lives.
“This is something that is needed here, and it is unique,” Tavel said. “You can’t find it anywhere else. From the frames, to the styling, to the 100-percent customizable product, it’s extraordinary. It’s an experience everybody, particularly those in Carmel, will just absolutely love.”
Inside Alternate View, Owner Mollie Tavel Kaback calls out a name for a grand opening giveaway. (Reporter photo by Amy Adams)
In addition to representatives from OneZone Chamber, Carmel City Council Member Jeff Worrell was on hand at the ribbon cutting event.
“We are thrilled to have you here, and we wish you all the best,” Worrell said.
Through March 15, in honor of its grand opening, Alternate View is offering free dry eye evaluations and a free initial dry eye IPL or RF treatment, a $300 value, for those who qualify.
“We look forward to seeing so many people from across the north side of Indy to the south side of Indy, and all the way in between, to help them curate an amazing wardrobe of eyewear and to work through dry eye,” Kaback said.
Alternate View is located at 750 Veterans Way, Suite 228. Schedule an appointment online at AlternateView.com.