Our Story

1974

A businessman from NY, Robert Granoff, needed glasses for reading. He did the logical thing and went to a prescription optical store and bought a pair of glasses. At the time, New York state didn’t allow eyewear to be sold outside of an optical store, so he had never seen racks of reading glasses. Months later, on a business trip to the Midwest, Robert forgot his glasses on his way to a meeting. The taxi driver took him to a drug store to pick up a new pair of glasses there. Tickled by the ease and economy of the ready-made reading glasses, he stocked up whenever he went out of state.

1976

In 1976, Robert moved to Dallas with his wife and family and entered the hotel business. He always paused whenever he passed a rack of reading glasses in one of the drug stores. He mused over the idea of being able to get reading glasses that were attractive, but didn’t cost several hundred dollars.

1986

Robert’s son, Peter, had just moved back to Dallas and was thinking about starting a business. Robert shared his idea for a store that specialized in just reading glasses, Peter researched the market, liked what he saw, and in 1986 the two opened their first store on Lover’s Lane in Dallas, TX.

1996

Peter saw the retail opportunity of the Internet fairly early and had purchased the URL, ReadingGlasses.com, in 1996. By 2000 the online store made its debut.

Embracing Technology

Looking to broaden their offering, the duo started traveling to industry optical shows and factories in Europe and Asia, where they struck up relationships with manufacturers.

2000

The company adds ecommerce, launching ReadingGlasses.com. They knew that offering a large array of designer reading glasses was just the beginning. That the real challenge, and the thing that would most determine success, would be how well the company would be able to translate the easy shopping experience and beloved customer service from the retail stores to the digital world.

2000-2018

As business increased and the concept proved itself the two made plans to expand. Soon they had stores in and around the Dallas metroplex, as well as in Houston, New Orleans and Tulsa.

2019

Today, the company enjoys success in both the brick-and-mortar and digital worlds. The website has been tweaked and reinvented time and again, resulting in an exemplary, state-of-the-art user experience.

2022-Present: Pioneering the Future of Reading Glasses and Prescription Eyewear

Since our last website redesign in 2019, ReadingGlasses.com has continued to lead with groundbreaking innovations and an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. In 2022, we re-platformed to Shopify, a world-class e-commerce platform that transformed our online store. This upgrade delivered a seamless, intuitive shopping experience with faster navigation, enhanced product discovery, and highly secure, Level 1 PCI DSS compliance, and 256-bit SSL encryption checkout protected customer data. Whether on desktop or mobile, our customers now enjoy a more responsive and personalized journey, making it easier than ever to find the perfect pair of reading glasses or prescription eyewear.

To support our growth and vision for the future, we relocated to a modern, beautiful, and efficient new headquarters in Dallas, Texas, doubling our size. This streamlined facility enables us to move orders through our system and out to customers more efficiently, ensuring a faster and more reliable shopping experience.

Within this new space, we’ve added a stunning retail showroom, allowing customers to try on our full range of frames to find the perfect fit and style. Our showroom complements the online experience, offering the same exceptional service in person. If your travels ever bring you to Dallas, please stop by and discover our full collections in person. We’d love to meet you.

In 2025, we redefined the online eyewear experience by proudly introducing the latest virtual try-on technology. This revolutionary feature allows shoppers to visualize how a frame’s shape, color, and style looks on their face, all from the convenience of their phone or computer. It’s fun, empowering, and designed to make choosing glasses a joy. We’re especially proud to have been the catalyst for the development of a first-of-its-kind real-life simulation for half-eye reading glasses, accurately showcasing their unique positioning slightly lower on the nose for optimal comfort and style. By presenting the challenge to our technology partners and pushing for this innovation, we became the first to bring this feature to market, reinforcing our commitment to enhancing the shopping experience for reading glasses and prescription eyewear.

In recent years, we’ve greatly expanded our Made in USA offerings, proudly featuring collections from five fully American-made brands. These beautifully crafted frames reflect the quality and artistry of American manufacturing, instilling a sense of pride in wearing glasses that are entirely produced in the USA. Each pair is custom-fitted with lenses at our in-house lab in Dallas, Texas, enabling us to provide lightning-fast service while supporting jobs for our fellow citizens. We strive to ship all orders received by 3 PM, Monday through Friday, on the same day. We’ve also expanded our lens offerings to include 18 additional options, featuring the latest advancements and coatings, such as blue-light filtering, polarized, and photochromic lenses, ensuring we meet a wide range of expanding vision needs and desires.

We’ve also enhanced our prescription (Rx) eyewear offerings to welcome everyone looking for stylish eyewear. Whether you need a stylish pair for distance or require customized lenses for different vision needs in each eye, our streamlined Rx process makes personalization effortless. Every product page now includes a direct link to our Rx options, allowing customers to easily submit prescriptions and receive expertly crafted glasses.

Most recently, we have partnered with American Mensa Society, the high-IQ organization, to develop a unique line of eyewear bearing their logo. The collection features models named after notable geniuses from history, with an tribute to their contributions tastefully etched on the inside of the temple: Newton’s Laws of Motion, the opening of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Euler’s famous equation, etc. There are currently eight models in the collection, with more to come.

ReadingGlasses.com remains committed to blending style, innovation, and exceptional customer care. Our 2022–2025 advancements reflect our mission to transform the way people shop for reading glasses and prescription eyewear, making it not just a necessity, but an empowering and delightful experience. Join our mailing list for exclusive offers and updates. And know that our dedicated customer service team here in Dallas is always just a click or call away to assist you.