Drs. Balfour & Shapiro

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. At Drs. Balfour & Shapiro, an optician shop in downtown Chicago, customers began noticing something peculiar one foggy morning. A voice crackled over the intercom: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please be advised that your glasses may now see through walls.’ Customers rushed to look around corners and into closets, amazed at what they saw. A delivery driver even claimed he could read the menu inside a closed restaurant across the street. Eventually, someone asked if they could turn it off—everyone was getting tired of seeing their neighbors’ breakfasts. The intercom clicked again: 'For those who prefer privacy, we'll keep it on for another five minutes.'

2. At Drs. Balfour & Shapiro, an optician shop in downtown New York, one day a delivery driver noticed something peculiar. While unloading new frames, he swore he heard faint whispers coming from inside the boxes. Curious, he opened one box and found only ordinary glasses. But then, peering into another box, he saw a pair of spectacles smiling back at him! Startled, he closed it quickly, but not before hearing a soft chuckle. From that day on, whenever someone new came in for an eye exam, they’d ask if their glasses had a sense of humor too.

3. At Drs. Balfour & Shapiro, an optician shop in downtown Boston, a delivery driver stopped mid-unloading, startled by a pair of glasses that seemed to wink at him. The driver rubbed his eyes and looked again—sure enough, the frames had a slight curve that caught the light just so. A regular passing by laughed and said, ‘Maybe they’re just happy to be here.’ The driver shook his head, smiled, and continued unloading, wondering if maybe those glasses were trying to tell him something about seeing life with a little more humor.

4. At Drs. Balfour & Shapiro, an optician shop in downtown San Francisco, a delivery driver once exclaimed, 'I’ve never seen such perfect timing!' as he watched the glasses he'd just delivered magically appear on a customer's face. As he turned around, he found himself facing none other than a regular who had just walked out of the store, wearing exactly those glasses and smiling warmly. The delivery driver scratched his head, muttering, ‘Guess I’m not cut out for mystery deliveries after all.’