Submitted Photo Marcey Denardo is a licensed optician who owns Silver Creek Optical.

SILVER CREEK — A local business in the village has been making each day brighter in the community for over 50 years.

Silver Creek Optical celebrated its golden year anniversary earlier this year, and with it, Optician Marcey Denardo celebrated 10 years of ownership of the business.

“I love my job. I love what I do, helping people see,” Denardo said.

Every day is different for Denardo depending on who her clients are, from an everyday customer just looking for a local touch on their experience to special requests requiring custom skills and a willingness to put their needs first.

Denardo moved to Western New York in 2011 just a few months after her husband, Michael, took over operating the Hole-Parker Funeral Chapel. Denardo came from a small town in Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh, which she felt was a lot like Silver Creek.

Besides her husband’s career move, another reason for Denardo’s decision to move to Silver Creek was that her field of practice is licensed in New York, while it is not in Pennsylvania. She began the process to become licensed upon her arrival in 2011, while also working at Sears Optical as a manager at Eastern Hills Mall in Williamsville.

Denardo later purchased Silver Creek Optical from John Ford, who founded the business in May 1974. Forty years after he founded the business, Ford was looking to retire and focus on his health. During a round of golf with Denardo’s husband, Ford learned of Denardo’s professional aspirations and struck up a deal to sell his business to her.

“The fact that I lived two blocks away was nice,” Denardo joked about the purchase of the business. She can walk to work each day, which is both a blessing and a curse in that she never truly gets away from her job.

With more than two decades of experience before moving to New York, Denardo has worked in the field for 32 years. Still, she evolves as the industry does, with frequent trips to conferences to see the newest technology.

“It’s always changing, it’s never the same day twice. That’s what I like about my job, the people that I run into and the stories I hear from them,” Denardo said.

One of the innovations Denardo offers at her business in Silver Creek is a new line of frames with custom bridges designed for both children and adults with disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy or Down Syndrome. The line was designed by a mother of a child with Down Syndrome.

Denardo has also accommodated clients without ears who need special frames, and has implemented lenses with frames that were imported from Italy that Denardo says big box retail stores “would not touch because of the liability.”

Denardo calls the most rewarding part of her job when a young child puts glasses on for the first time. She cherishes the moment when a child’s face lights up from being able to see clearly for the first time. Denardo always urges parents to take their camera out to capture the moment that never gets old, no matter how many times she experiences it.

In the decade since taking over Silver Creek Optical, Denardo has become a fixture in the community. In addition to serving the community Monday-Thursday each week, Silver Creek Optical also supports local causes through work with the Silver Creek Kiwanis Club, as well as through supporting the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Chautauqua County.

The community has repaid the favor, no more so than during a flood in 2015 when neighbors stopped by with shovels and mops, along with food and water to help the business get back on its feet.

“The people are really good around here,” Denardo said. “… It’s a close-knit community.”

In a time where online shopping has become a preference for many throughout the nation, there is still something to be said for the personal touch offered by a familiar face. Mayor of Silver Creek Jeff Hornburg even spoke to that fact at a recent meeting, as he joked after struggling to read a note, “I got a postcard from Marcey that said I’m due for an exam.”

Fortunately for him, and the community he serves, Denardo’s office is just a short walk down the street.