After nearly 50 years, Martin, Thomas, Walker Optical is now under new ownership, as well as the new name, “SPEX Optical-Eyewear.”

Located adjacent to Riverside Walter Reed Hospital at 7588 Hospital Drive, SPEX is set to celebrate its grand opening on Friday from 4-6 p.m.

This comes after the retirement of optician Jeff Mullins, who stepped down in December after 25 years of serving the Gloucester community.

“They were the place to get glasses,” said new owner Crystal Stocki about Martin, Thomas, Walker.

“I loved what I did,” said Mullins. “It was never a pain to come to work.”

Mullins got his start in the optician world at Hopkins Optical in Hampton grinding lenses.

“It was a part-time job while I was in school,” said Mullins.

While there, he was able to learn a lot and eventually become an optician.

“You had on-the-job training,” he said. “It was like going to the apprentice school, learning your trade.”

Hopkins Optical kept him busy the many years he was employed there.

“You always had work,” said Mullins. “Everything was in-house. There weren’t many labs back then.”

Martin, Thomas, Walker opened in 1977 under the leadership of Orren L. Chapman. In 1988, Mullins began working at the Gloucester optician office at the request of Chapman.

“I came here to help him out temporarily,” said Mullins, who lived in Newport News at the time, but decided to make the move to Gloucester in 1999.

“Orren was a really good guy,” said Mullins.

“He was good to everybody,” said Eloise, Mullins’s wife, who worked the front desk at Martin, Thomas, Walker.

“I made a lot of friends,” said Jeff. “I love working with the public. You learn a lot.”

Jeff Mullins and Chapman worked together for many years until Chapman took a step back from the practice to focus on his health. He passed away in May 2023.

After a long career, Jeff had decisions to make. He had to not only decide an appropriate time for him to retire, but also what to do with the practice.

During this time, Stocki was working as a mobile optician after leaving her previous position in a similar role in Williamsburg during the COVID-19 years.

“I was missing a lot of work,” said Stocki, who had to stay home with her daughter during various school shutdowns. “It was a mess.”

She traveled to different clients to help serve their optician needs, particularly to nursing homes and busy families, but Stocki knew this was not the right fit for her long-term.

A friend, Jennifer Johnson, gave Stocki a call late last summer to inform her that the owner of Martin, Thomas, Walker was selling the practice. Stocki had been vaguely aware of the practice after seeing its sign while traveling to coach the Gloucester High School swim team.

“They had been taking care of people the same way I wanted to,” said Stocki about the practice.

She and Jeff had a great talk and soon struck a deal.

“The public is in very good hands,” said Eloise about Stocki and Johnson. “They don’t have a thing to worry about.”

Jeff retired at the end of last year and Stocki and Johnson have been remodeling the practice ever since.

“It’s been perfect that we stayed open,” said Stocki about the remodeling process.

SPEX Optical-Eyewear is available to fill eyewear prescriptions and make glasses for various needs.

“We service glasses also,” said Stocki. “We do adjustments.”

Though the business world is new to Stocki, she is excited for the future and her faith has been a main driving force for her.

“God has been in all of it,” said Stocki.