Eyewear is personal.
Your optical experience should be too.
You wear your glasses through meetings, dinners, school drop-offs, weekends away, and everything in between. They help you see the world, but they also become part of how the world sees you.
At Levato Eyewear in Ridgewood, NJ, we bring together distinctive designer eyewear, precision-crafted lenses, and personal expertise to help you find glasses that look exceptional, feel right, and work beautifully for the way you actually live.
Because the right pair shouldn't just improve your vision.
It should feel unmistakably yours.
Eyewear is personal.
Your optical experience should be too.
WHY LEVATO EYEWEAR?
We Think Eyewear Deserves More Attention.
Glasses are one of the few things you may put on first thing in the morning and wear until the end of your day.
So why should choosing them feel like checking a box?
At Levato Eyewear, we've created a more thoughtful alternative to the traditional eyewear store. Our Ridgewood optical boutique pairs a carefully curated collection of independent and luxury eyewear with advanced lens technology and genuinely personal service.
We take the time to understand your prescription, your style, your routine, and what hasn't worked for you before.
No wall of frames to figure out on your own.
No pressure to settle.
No one-size-fits-all recommendations.
Just people who know eyewear and care about getting yours right.
NEARLY 70 YEARS IN RIDGEWOOD
Levato Eye has been part of the Ridgewood community for nearly 70 years.
When licensed optician Don Axelband acquired the business in 2000, he inherited more than an optical store. He became part of a longstanding relationship between Levato and the people who walk through its doors.
Over the years, eyewear has changed. Lens technology has changed. Style has definitely changed.
Levato has evolved right along with it.
But one thing hasn't:
The person behind the prescription always comes first.
Today, we have the privilege of serving multiple generations of families. Kids have grown up and returned with families of their own. Prescriptions have changed. New frames have replaced old favorites.
The relationships have stayed.
That's what being an independent optical boutique means to us.
Not simply being located in Ridgewood. Being part of it.
The Frames Have Changed.
What Matters Hasn't.
MEET DON AXELBAND
OWNER & LICENSED OPTICIAN
More Than 25 Years at Levato.
And Still Obsessed With Getting the Details Right.
Don has spent his career looking at eyewear from every angle.
Before acquiring Levato in 2000, he managed optical businesses in New York, Georgia, and Florida and served as an adjunct professor at the State University of New York, teaching eyewear dispensing and manufacturing.
That depth of technical knowledge still shapes the Levato experience today.
But ask Don what matters most and you're likely to hear less about credentials and more about clients.
His approach starts with knowing the person sitting across from him: how they see, what they do all day, what they love about their current glasses, what drives them crazy, and what they need from the next pair.
It's an approach that has earned him the trust of generations of families and recognition as 201 Magazine's Best Optician in Bergen County for two consecutive years.
Because even after decades in optical, Don's philosophy remains refreshingly simple:
The Best Eyewear Isn't Just Made For Your Prescription. It's Made for You.
More Than 25 Years at Levato.
And Still Obsessed With Getting the Details Right.
DON, OFF THE CLOCK
ALMOST A PLUMBER
Don's dad had it all planned out — plumbing and joining the union. Don had other ideas, and lucky for us, he chose eyewear instead.
WORKOUT OF CHOICE
One bike, barely ridden. One black lab named Benny, fully in charge of Don's step count.
ALMOST A PLUMBER
Don's dad had it all planned out — plumbing and joining the union. Don had other ideas, and lucky for us, he chose eyewear instead.
WORKOUT OF CHOICE
One bike, barely ridden. One black lab named Benny, fully in charge of Don's step count.
FAVORITE BRAND
SPEXWAX — lightweight, cool, and made from a record (and if you spin around fast enough, the music plays)
FAVORITE BRAND
SPEXWAX — lightweight, cool, and made from a record (and if you spin around fast enough, the music plays)
DREAM VACATION
Most people dream of somewhere new. Don dreams of Cancún — where he's already been.
DREAM VACATION
Most people dream of somewhere new. Don dreams of Cancún — where he's already been.
THE LEVATO EXPERIENCE
HAS ALWAYS BEEN PERSONAL
Expertise Gets You
So Far.
Knowing People
Takes You Further.
For more than two decades, Don has built Levato around relationships: taking the time to know the person behind the prescription and helping clients find eyewear made for the way they actually live.
But finding the right pair
isn't only about optics.
Sometimes, you need someone
who knows style.
THE LEVATO EXPERIENCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN PERSONAL
Expertise Gets You So Far.
Knowing People Takes You Further.
For more than two decades, Don has built Levato around relationships: taking the time to know the person behind the prescription and helping clients find eyewear made for the way they actually live.
But finding the right pair isn't only about optics.
Sometimes, you need someone who knows style.
MEET JESSE
STYLE EXPERT
Finding Great Frames
Is One Thing.
Finding Your Frames Is Jesse's Thing.
Finding Great Frames Is One Thing.
Finding Your Frames Is Jesse's Thing.
There's a difference between a frame that fits your face and one that feels like it belongs there.
That's where Jesse comes in.
As Levato's Style Expert, Jesse helps clients move beyond what's familiar and discover eyewear that works with their features, personal style, wardrobe, lifestyle, and the impression they actually want to make.
Maybe you know exactly what you're looking for. Maybe you've been wearing the same shape for fifteen years. Or maybe you've already decided that nothing looks good on you.
Challenge accepted.
Jesse's job isn't to put you in whatever's trending. It's to know what's happening in eyewear and translate it into something that feels completely natural on you.
Because the best compliment isn't, “I love your glasses.”
It's, “Those are so you.”
JESSE, OFF THE CLOCK
PROUD NAVY MOM
Jesse is a proud mom of four, with three daughters and a son serving in the Navy. His service is something she holds especially close to her heart.
WORKOUT OF CHOICE
Heavy weights. Jesse doesn’t go to the gym to casually wander around with a water bottle. She’s there to lift.
FAVORITE BRAND
Tom Ford. Because sometimes the glasses really should look as put-together as you’re pretending to be.
FAVORITE BRAND
Tom Ford. Because sometimes the glasses really should look as put-together as you’re pretending to be.
PROUD NAVY MOM
Jesse is a proud mom of four, with three daughters and a son serving in the Navy. His service is something she holds especially close to her heart.
BEFORE THE FRAMES
Jesse used to be a DJ. These days, she’s more likely to be mixing Tom Ford into your eyewear rotation.
WORKOUT OF CHOICE
Heavy weights. Jesse doesn’t go to the gym to casually wander around with a water bottle. She’s there to lift.
BEFORE THE FRAMES
Jesse used to be a DJ. These days, she’s more likely to be mixing Tom Ford into your eyewear rotation.
THE LEVATO EXPERIENCE
Come for the Eyewear.
Stay Because We Get It Right.
Independent Eyewear
Distinctive designers, exceptional craftsmanship, and frames you won't find everywhere.
Personal Styling
Thoughtful recommendations based on you, not a formula.
Precision Lenses
Advanced lens technology customized for the way you actually see and live.
Service That Sticks Around
Adjustments, fine-tuning, repairs, and people who know your name.