South Shields' Specsavers celebrates 30th anniversary at King Street store with five employees awarded for long service

The opticians, located on King Street in South Shields is celebrating a significant milestone after first welcoming customers back in October 1992 and has since completed thousands of eye tests, looking after the eye health of the South Tyneside community.

To add to the celebrations, five of the original staff members who started 30 years ago when the store first opened are still part of the team.

The employees were presented with long service certificates and presents as well as receiving personalised cards and hand iced biscuits from Dame Mary Perkins, co-founder of Specsavers.

As part of the celebrations the full team enjoyed a buffet lunch and a special birthday cake.

The store is currently managed by retail director Mel Moore who has been with Specsavers for 24 years, optician director Caroline Angell and optometrist director Emma Nicol, who both joined as store partners in 2021.

Mel says her team are ‘lucky’ to have regular customers who they call ‘good friends’.

She said: “It’s hard to believe we have been part of the South Shields community for three decades – what an incredible journey it has been.

“Not only have we invested in the store throughout the years including the purchase of an OCT machine, but we have also been able to expand our services to ensure we are always there for our customers, with the store now open seven days a week.

“We are also lucky to call many of our regular customers good friends as they have been with us for a long time.”

"Our anniversary was a very special day considering that five team members have been with us since we first opened our doors – it was a lovely touch that they received gifts from Dame Mary Perkins.

“On behalf of the full team, I would like to say a huge thank you to the community and our wonderful customers - it is a pleasure to serve South Shields.”