Our story
Started on a kitchen table in 1991.
SN Optical didn't start in a warehouse or a boardroom. It started on a kitchen table — a rotary phone, a box of screws and nose pads, and a handwritten promise to treat every customer like a neighbor.
Back then, the optical supply world was already consolidating into a few corporate giants. We went the other direction: stock only what works, answer the phone ourselves, and never make a buyer hunt for a part number. That scrappy, built-from-scratch spirit still runs the business today.
Three decades later, SN Optical is the largest independent, family-owned wholesale optical supplier in the country. The table is bigger now, but the idea is the same — independent practices and labs deserve a supplier who remembers their name and ships exactly what they ordered.
1991
Founded on a kitchen table with hand-sorted parts, local deliveries, and a simple rule: treat customers right.
Family owned
Still operated by the same family. No investors, no runaround — every decision is made with customers in mind.
Built from scratch
The alternative to corporate behemoths: honest pricing, real people on the phone, and better service by choice.
The phone rang, Norman answered, rang the bell, and the order shipped that day.
Our original mark
Stormin' Norman's
Before SN Optical, there was Stormin' Norman's — the name on our first order forms and the face customers knew. The phone rang, Norman answered, and the order shipped that day. The logo has aged; the habit hasn't. He still takes your questions today as our "Ask Norman" assistant.
Why we’re different
Grassroots roots, wholesale scale.
While the industry keeps buying up competitors, we’ve stayed independent on purpose. That freedom lets us keep prices fair, stock what buyers actually use, and treat a two-line screw order with the same care as a pallet of lab supplies.
Our customers are optometrists, opticians, and optical labs who don’t have time to wrestle with a website or sit on hold with a call center. They call us because we know the bench, the part numbers, and the urgency of a practice that can’t wait on a missing hinge.
Real people, real answers
Call 800-288-4512 and you’ll reach someone who can walk to the shelf, not read a script.
Stocked for the bench
Screws, nose pads, pliers, blocking pads, cloths — the items you reorder every month, priced for wholesale.
Imprinted retail accessories
Cloths, sprays and cases carrying your practice name, produced in-house.
Ships fast, packed right
Orders leave quickly and arrive intact, so your lab never waits on a part.
Still the same family. Still the same table.
If you’re tired of being just another account number, give us a call. We’d rather earn your business than lock you into a contract.