Moscot

In 1899, when he was in his 20s, Belarusian immigrant Hyman Mushcot arrived in New York City through Ellis Island, allegedly where his surname was shortened and changed to Moscot.[2] (In reality, he voluntarily changed his surname himself later on.) He settled down in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood, and having already worked in the optical business in his home country, he began selling ready-made eyeglasses from a wooden pushcart on Orchard Street.[1][3] He spoke only Yiddish, and served the many immigrants that poured into the Lower East Side at the turn of the century.[3]

Hyman Moscot in front of the first Moscot shop on 94 Rivington St.

In 1910, Hyman married fellow immigrant Leba.[2] Five years later, with a family rapidly growing, he opened his first retail store at 94 Rivington Street, filling its windows with signs, posters, and drawings of giant eyes and glasses. (Because of this, some journalists have speculated that the shop, which sat close to the Williamsburg bridge, was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s inspiration for the Doctor T. J. Eckleburg billboard in The Great Gatsby, which the novelist was writing during the same years.)[2][4]

Sol Moscot sitting in a vintage Ford on Rivington Street in 1934

Hyman and Leba had six children.[2] In 1925, at 15 years old, Hyman’s youngest son, Solomon, nicknamed “Sol,” took over the business, and in 1935, moved the shop to its location at 118 Orchard Street, where it would be located for nearly eight decades.[3] The bright yellow sign with giant, black-rimmed glasses that adorned its storefront became synonymous with the brand, the neighborhood, and downtown New York, and while most of New York's historical businesses fell during the Great Depression, the Moscots made it through the 1930s.[2]

Sol's son, Joel, began presiding over the House of Moscot in 1951.[2] Charming, dedicated, and devoted to his customers, Joel would manage Moscot for over fifty years‚ overseeing the Shop's activities, while conveying the family's values to his sons, who would soon become the fourth generation of Moscots to take the helm. The oldest, Harvey, graduated from Boston New England College of Optometry in 1986, and began working as a doctor at 118 Orchard.[2] The youngest, Kenny, entered the business in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in finance.[4] In 1996, with father Joel still at the company, Moscot expanded, opening a second shop at 69 W. 14th Street, on the corner of Sixth Avenue, in downtown Manhattan, which remains the company's flagship location.[2]

The Moscot shop in Brooklyn

After Joel Moscot retired in 2003,[2] the family company rebranded from Sol Moscot to Moscot. Together, the fourth generation Moscot siblings reinvented what was once a neighborhood optical shop into what is now a global brand.[2]

After the death of his brother in 2010, Harvey Moscot became president of the company. Due to gentrification in the Lower East Side, Moscot moved from 118 Orchard Street across Delancey Street to 108 Orchard Street where it remains today. The shop was eventually included in the Tenement Museum’s historical tour of the Lower East Side.[5] In 2013, Moscot opened its third flagship store, this time in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, the façade of which is reminiscent of the family’s first shop at 94 Rivington Street.[2] Moscot later opened shops in Seoul, South Korea, Tokyo, Japan, and London, England.

Harvey's son, Zack Moscot studied industrial and product design at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and began working full time at Moscot in 2013. He is now the company’s chief eyewear designer, representing the fifth generation Moscot to join the brand.[6]