KREWE Reimagines The Retail Experience With On-Site Optician And Southern Hospitality

NEW ORLEANS — KREWE is thrilled to announce that it has opened its first optical-focused store and second New Orleans location in the Lower Garden District at 1818 Magazine St. Not only will KREWE deepen its roots in its hometown, but it will also reinvent the typical, banal eye exam experience.

Based in New Orleans, KREWE frames are purposefully-designed and culturally-inspired to embrace individuality, allowing you to “do you.” Every pair is designed by its founder and creative director, Stirling Barrett using colorful hand-carved plant-based acetates, mixed metals, and a wide array of premium lenses.

“With our second New Orleans location, we’re excited to introduce a whole new, optical-focused experience for our customers,” said Stirling Barrett, founder and creative director. “At 1818 Magazine you’ll still find our much-loved sun collection, but we’re continuing to expand optical for the KREWE customer.”

With its new optical store, the KREWE team said they are making eye exams more convenient, hospitable and fun. Once launched, making an appointment with KREWE’s on-site optometrist is as easy as sending a text. Upon entering the store, guests are greeted with a selection of sparkling rosé or kombucha on tap at the brass cash wrap.

This isn’t your mother’s optometrist, and it shouldn’t have to be – said the KREWE team in a press release. After arriving for their eye exam, guests can peruse the latest optical and sun style – drink in hand – or sit and relax at a long, green terrazzo bar running down the center of the space. The 1818 Magazine store, said the press release, is light-filled with additional design-forward features created by Goodwood New Orleans in partnership with Stirling Barrett and designer Nicole Cota. Custom framed mirrors and cypress cabinets line the walls. Lush, tropical plants and sleek and marble countertops reveal every detail of a space that is thoughtful and intentional, carrying over the focus on quality that goes into the creation of every KREWE frame.

“The root of the KREWE experience is in hospitality,” said Barrett. “We are essentially inviting people into our home, and we intend to treat them like friends and family.”

The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.