100 Years as a family business
WORLD WAR I Samuel Kamerow, a jeweler and optician by trade, leaves war-torn Russia for a better life in America. He boards a ship in Turkey and enters this country at Ellis Island.
1924 Samuel buys a jewelry store in Grand Central Terminal in June of that year. It is located in the West Shuttle Passage.
1926 Samuel marries Rebecca Shulman, who also migrated from Russia. Their daughter Rita is born in 1927.
1947 Rita marries Milton Stein, her high school sweetheart.
1952 Milt joins the family business. Together with his father-in-law they manage Grand Central Jewelers.
1964 Milt opens up Grand Central Optical in the Lexington Passage.
1979 Scott Stein, Rita and Milt's son, starts working at GCO full-time. He has been coming into the store, learning the business, since he was 8 years old.
1994 Scott commissions a renovation of Grand Central Optical's store. It wins a Best Retail design award from the American Association of Interior Designers.
1996 During the renovation of Grand Central Terminal, GCO moves three times in eight months, which included setting up shop inside a tent in Vanderbilt Hall, so the store could remain open for its customers.
2015 Jordan Stein, son of Scott and wife Julie, is the fourth generation of work full-time in the family business. Jordan and Scott run the business together.
2016-PRESENT Our current location in Grand Central Terminal is in the Lexington Passage.
2023-PRESENT Our 340 Madison Avenue store is located between 43rd and 44th St.
HISTORICALLY, WE HAVE MADE IT OUR MISSION TO OFFER HIGH-QUALITY PRODUCTS AND EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE TO OUR CLIENTS
We focus on in-store customer care and our in-house state-of-the-art lab, to offer you Same-Day Service. Complex prescription glasses can be made in just a couple of hours.
100 YEARS AS A FAMILY BUSINESS
WORLD WAR I
Samuel Kamerow, a jeweler and optician by trade, leaves war-torn Russia for a better life in America. He boards a ship in Turkey and enters this country at Ellis Island.
1924
Samuel buys a jewelry store in Grand Central Terminal in June of 1924. It is located in the West Shuttle Passage.
1926
Samuel marries Revecca Schulman, who also emigrated from Russia. Their daughter Rita is born in 1927.
1947
Rita marries Milton Stein, her high school sweetheart.
1952
Milt joins the family business. Together, with his father-in-law, they manage Grand Central Jewelers.
1964
Milt opens up the first Grand Central Optical in the Lexington Passage.
1979
Scott Stein, Rita and Milt's son, starts working at GCO full-time. He had been coming into the store, learning the business, since he was 8 years old.
1994
Scott commissions a renovation of Grand Central Optical's store. It wins a Best Retail design award from the American Association of Interior Designers.
1996
During the renovation of Grand Central Terminal, GCO moves three times in eight months, which included setting up shop inside a tent in Vanderbilt Hall, so the store could remain open for its customers.
2015
Jordan Stein, son of Scott and wife Julie, is the fourth generation to work full-time in the family business. Jordan and Scott run the business together.
2016 - PRESENT
Our current location in Grand Central Terminal is in the Lexington Passage.
2023 - PRESENT
Our 340 Madison Avenue store is located between 43rd and 44th St.
HISTORICALLY WE HAVE
MADE IT OUR MISSION
TO OFFER HIGH-QUALITY
PRODUCTS AND
EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER
SERVICE TO OUR CLIENTS
