Local residents don’t have to run out and get their eyes checked if they think they see a new name on a familiar optometry office in the near future.
The 1008 N. Main St. office of Dr. Chris Gamble and Dr. Gary Contner has changed ownership and will soon get a new name — North Main Eyecare — but that’s about all that will be changing there for the time being, the doctors said.
Dr. Contner, who has owned the practice since 1981, said he is not retiring, but has sold the business to Dr. Gamble, who has been practicing there for the past 25 years.
Dr. Gamble said he wanted to make sure his own future in the practice was secure.
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Dr. Chris Gamble, left, and Dr. Gary Contner pose inside an exam room at North Main Eyecare. Dr. Gamble is buying the 1008 N. Main St. optometry office from Dr. Contner, but it will not affect the day-to-day operation of the business, the two said. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES) |
“I’ve been here 20 years as an independent contractor; it looks like a partnership and it will be the same thing, but now I will own the business and Dr. Contner will work as a contractor,” Dr. Gamble, 46, said. “I’m from Logan County originally and I plan on staying here. I don’t like the big city and don’t ever want to relocate. That’s exactly what was on my mind when I made this decision. I’m definitely not going anywhere at least until I’m 65.”
Dr. Contner, 59, also a Logan County native, said he definitely is not ready for retirement either.
“I’m going to continue as is for at least three years,” he said. “But I could see myself doing this until I’m 75 or 80 — a day or two a week — if (Dr. Gamble) still has a chair for me.”
They just wanted to make sure that the approximately 20,000 existing patients and anyone looking for a new optometrist was aware that business continues as usual.
They offer a full line of optometry services, including eye exams, fittings for glasses and contact lenses and surgical procedure co-management.
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