Hendrix & McGuire Optical
Portland's Perfect Peepers - Serving all your vision needs since 1955!
Portland's Perfect Peepers
Years of Experience
We have a staff of four with a combined experience of almost 100 years. We are committed to providing you the most personalized service you could possibly receive.
Our Specialty
We specialize in round frames, pre-WWII frames, hard to find frames and restoration of your vintage glasses. From 1800 to the present, we have a frame for you. With thousands of frames in stock, we are sure to find that perfect pair of Portland’s peepers.
Store Hours
Come see us! We are open Monday thru Friday 10am to 5pm for your optical needs.
We offer thousands of frames, contact lenses and the very newest technology in eyeglass lenses. We are a unique optical that offers the old and the new. I have been in the optical field since 1980 and am one of the few opticians that can make a pair of glasses from start to finish.When you visit our store, you will immediately see the uniqueness of our office. Not much has changed since 1955.
We give high quality service throughout the entire transaction. You will also be pleased to know that even after you leave the store, we are always going to be here for all your needs. Hendrix & McGuire Optical is known throughout Portland for “fixing anything”. We also accept most vision insurance plans.
Services
MODERN EYEWEAR
The Latest Eyewear: Stay ahead of the trends with the latest eyewear styles and find the perfect frame for your face.
VINTAGE EYEWEAR
Vintage Eyewear offers unique, stylish eyewear to help you stand out. Our glasses are timeless and fashionable, making you look and feel great. We have a great selection for you to choose from.
EYE EXAMS
We also offer full service eye exams by Dr. Nancy Buset (Independent Contractor).
CONTACT LENSES
From Bausch & Lomb to Ciba, Cooper to AcuVue and everything in between, we can provide you with your contact lenses at very competitive prices. We can also provide free shipping directly to your home with the purchase of a year supply of contact lenses.
EYEGLASS REPAIR
ADJUSTMENTS and CLEANING are a must to keep your glasses in tip top shape! We are one of the only Optical Stores in town that custom repair eyeglasses of all types.
INSURANCE PLANS
We take many insurance plans of today and will work with you for fast, reliable reimbursement.
Timeline
How It All Started
A Life Full of Spectacles
Earl Hendrix, the founder of Hendrix & McGuire, was a Kansas rancher’s son; one of those kids enthralled by engines. He tinkered on farm machinery and taught himself to fix watches. Earl had to leave his hometown in a hurry at 17. Locking his friend in the city jailhouse as a prank, he found the law after him, instead. Earl hopped a lumbering train as it headed east for Kansas City, Kan., thereafter gaining the nickname “Tracks.”
3/1/1935
The Doors Opened ...
In the big city, he started learning the optician’s craft of grinding lenses and fitting glasses that would serve him for the next 65 years. Propelled by his lifelong assurance and a confidence that he was always right, he got better jobs in Colorado and then in California. When Earl came to Portland after World War II, all the doctors were downtown and they didn’t sell glasses. Earl worked for another optician at first, then in 1955 went out on his own with partner Tom McGuire. By the late 1950’s, Earl ran the dispensary, and McGuire was out of the picture. Earl had a complete lab and could do it all. At one point, he had three shops, sometimes doing 50 pairs a day. He brushed off his shoes and straightened his tie before the doors opened. To customers he was a polite charmer. He was always ready to do a hot job for ranchers in town for the day, no extra charge. If a job was coded HOH and on a red tray, it meant “hell of a hurry”. Screws were tight, prescription doubled checked, ready to go out the door when the patient came in after lunch. There was never a charge to adjust frames. If the refraction wasn’t just right, Earl would remake it. If you couldn’t afford it, he wouldn’t charge anything. He was as sweet as pie with Mrs. Nussbaum, but he became a different person when he went through the doors into the back room. He had language that would make a mechanic blush. He ripped employees up and down, and they walked on eggshells. Employees learned to do a good job, or get a tray hurled at them. They knew not to ask him for a raise. But he would teach them all he knew.
1/25/1955Earl caught his stride ...
He never missed a day for sickness (that isn’t an excuse!) and wouldn’t go far on vacation because somebody else would have to be in charge. He was the only one who had the key to the downtown store.Display area Every single day, he ate half of one of his homegrown, home-canned peaches for lunch, with cottage cheese. Earl deplored vanity in customers, “These are to help you see, not fashion items!” But he himself loved great big, flashy, fast cars with lots of chrome. He liked to see how fast he could get through Dundee before he got a $2 ticket for speeding. He never liked credit (“What? Don’t people have real money?”) and always carried a wad of $400 in walking-around money. He could cash your paychecks so you wouldn’t have an excuse for not paying him right away. After work, he liked the Western Club above the shop for a drink. At home, he drank two gin and tonics after work. He’d drink one while the other was cooling. “Spec-peddling docs,” doctors who sold eyeglasses, burned Earl up. He felt doctors and corporations had stolen his beloved industry, and he deplored “Texas outfits” – one-hour glasses makers. And just because you were an eye doctor didn’t make you right. Doctors know about eyeballs, Earl said, but he knew about spectacles. He would dress down a doctor who wrote incorrect prescriptions. “This guy will drive his car into a brick wall!” he exclaimed. Only he used more colorful words. Because Earl was never wrong, he was the one doctors would call with questions.
5/15/1960
Retirement
Eyeglass making was computerized and there was only a handful of independent opticians left when Earl sold the store in 1990 in his 80’s. Earl’s two early marriages didn’t take, and then he met Vera Mae, the ex-wife of another optician. They were married 44 years and lived in the Argay Terrace area of Northeast Portland, traveled to Reno (Las Vegas was too flashy for Earl) and took a cruise through the Panama Canal, where the workings of the canal locks fascinated Earl. Vera died in 2003. After selling the store, Earl tinkered at his workbench. He bought an organ, but it was really just another gadget. He organized his tools and fixed things. You wouldn’t dare tell him if he’d done it wrong. He died July 18, 2004, at 95, and he got a shiny chrome casket. At the store that retains his name, Hendrix & McGuire customers still ask, “Is Earl still around?”
9/20/1990And Today ... How It Is Now
Today we have 4 women with 100 years of experience owning and running his original store. I wonder what he would think about that?
7/15/2007The Team
Rhonda Nienburg
Owner / Optician
In 1980, Rhonda started her optical career at Pioneer Optics where she met her best friend Kim and her partner Dacia who also worked at Pioneer. She met many people there - they all became lifelong friends. After leaving Pioneer in 1988 she moved on to Boise, Idaho, where she learned the retail part of making glasses. She settled on working for Pearle Vision in 1989 and it ended up being a great experience as she learned from a gentleman who knew everything about eyeglasses - and then some. So many people along the way had taught her everything about eyeglasses that she thought she could learn, by 2003 she moved to Campbell California - working for Pearle vision. It was fun doing some training and learning that end of it. In 2005 she was offered a different job by Pearle Vision. Fixing a store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that was going downhill. There was no fixing that, the Dr of 20 years was leaving. So, she left with her and worked as her Lab Optician. She learned some valuable lessons - leaving Iowa in 2007. She worked for an unnamed HMO for a while (and didn’t like it) and started looking around for something else – coming across Hendrix & McGuire Optical. THIS was the place she was going to buy. It wasn’t going to be like the big box stores she worked for - those places were turning the Opticians world into selling without knowledge. It wasn’t going to be about how much money you give her; it was going to be like it was when Earl Hendrix owned the place. By October 2008 Rhonda was the proud owner of Hendrix McGuire Optical. She decided to run her store with her own vision - where the CUSTOMER is number one. She has strived to make it a destination for people - where it’s always fun and we always laugh. She has turned it into an optical store that is trusted for knowledge/expertise - fun to go to, and is home to Portland’s Perfect Peepers.
Dr. Nancy Buset
Optometrist
Dr. Nancy has been practicing in the Portland metro area since graduating from optometry school in 2001. She specializes in pediatric optometry and vision therapy, but enjoys working with patients of all ages. Dr. Nancy comes from a family of teachers, and educating her patients about their eyes and vision is her favorite part of her job. At age 8, Dr. Nancy was already significantly near-sighted, and she remembers the amazement of seeing clearly through her first pair of glasses. In high school and college, Dr. Nancy wore contact lenses. As an adult, she had Lasik surgery to correct her vision. She loves to help her patients explore the pros and cons of all these options, so they can determine which type of correction will best suit their own lifestyle. Dr. Nancy attended Central College in Pella, Iowa, where she majored in biology. She obtained her doctor of optometry (O.D.) degree from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, before moving to Oregon to establish her career. She enjoys Broadway musicals, Stephen King novels, and taking pictures on road trips.
Kim Kent
Optician
Kim is a native Oregonian who grew up in the Beaverton area. Kim started her optical career in the late 70’s working in an optical lab for 14 years. She left optics in 1992 to pursue other career opportunities. Kim met her wife in 92 and together they have a beautiful daughter. She returned to her passion in 2008 when her BFF bought an optical store in downtown Portland. Kim enjoys the outdoors, hiking and the occasional bike ride. Kim said the best part of her job is working with her best friends and meeting tons of cool people.
Janny Aberle
Optician
Janny was born in sunny California, but relocated to Oregon over 20 years ago to raise her three children, which she describes as her greatest joys in life. Janny loves, helping others and always goes above and beyond to share a smile with everyone she meets. Janny said she enjoys being part of a caring, fun and knowledgeable team, who always support each other and all of the patients that walk through the door.
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Contact Us
- 925 Southwest Taylor Street, Portland, OR, USA
We are one block from the Max and Portland Streetcar, and City Center Parking has a lot right across the street from our front door!