Just about a year ago, Marlene Marino opened Verona Opticians. She loaded the store, located just across the street from H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, with dozens of eyeglass frames, from designer to designer lookalikes. Only one thing was missing: A doctor of optometry.
Just up the block and across the street was Affinity Eye Care. It had been in Verona for two decades, and had two doctors of optometry–Bradley Doolen and Asima Cuevas. But it needed a service to dispense eyeglasses.
In late August, the two businesses built on their strengths and merged. The equipment and records from Affinity were wheeled across the Montrose Avenue light and into the storefront at 573 Bloomfield Avenue, which has been re-branded Verona Opticians-Affinity Eye Care. “Now,” says Marino, “the only reason you would not come here is if you need surgery.”
Marino says that the merged business has a doctor on staff four of the five days it is open every week, and that they accept just about every insurance. “In Essex County, a lot of doctors are not accepting all the insurance plans that we are,” she says. “And we can serve pediatric patients through seniors.”
Verona Opticians-Affinity Eye Care is open every day except Wednesday and Sunday. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, 10 to 6:30 on Tuesday, 9 to 6:30 on Thursday, 9 to 4 on Friday and 9 to 1 on Saturday. There are doctor hours on every day except Monday, and on Saturdays, the doctors are available every other week. The number to call for an appointment is 973-857-0011.
