Meet the Faces Behind the Frames: Alex & Steph of Alexander Daas Opticians Del Mar

Alex Feldman is the Founder of Alexander Daas Opticians in Del Mar, with locations in San Clemente, LA’s Larchmont Village, Palo Alto and San Francisco. Learn more on Instagram here.

1. Let’s start with your story — how did the two of you meet, and what brought you both to Del Mar?

Steph: Grandmas were doing their job. Yes, actually! Alex’s grandma met my family friend’s grandmother and made the connection. Was there a very awkward phone call where I grilled Alex as if he was in a job interview (while all my friends witnessed the call on speaker phone)? Why yes. 

But things took off, and after some long distance relationship time (him in San Francisco and me in San Diego), things worked out. I moved to San Francisco for a while and lived in the Marina where Alex’s SF location is (San Francisco Optics by Alexander Daas), which has a similar feeling to Del Mar. 

Those days were so fun, watching athletes and celebs come in for stylings. By far my most memorable moments were when the original Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) came in for a styling, and when the secret service came in with a high profile politician and had to sweep the store (5 black suburbans in tow!).

2. What inspired you to start or become involved in your respective businesses?

Alex: Eyewear has been a part of my life since childhood. Growing up as a second-generation optician, I was in the lab learning eyewear and cutting lenses since I was a kid. My father, mother and both sisters were opticians. And I loved opticianry, but I also loved business. So I bought my father's San Francisco shop which was established in 1979, with the vision to build something bigger beyond a single boutique, and aspirations to build a national brand. Today, I'm proud to have expanded along the California coast with five locations and our own eyewear line, Alexander Daas.

Steph: I lead marketing for the sustainability business within a large consulting firm. I love flexing my creative chops, bridging small business with my global corporate world. And, fun fact: I used to collect eyewear even before I met Alex—so it was meant to be!

3. How do you support each other professionally and personally while working in or running businesses within the same community?

Steph: We've been together a long time—so long that sometimes it feels like the math doesn't math as TikTok says. Aren't we still in our early 20s!? 

Our minds are very much in sync; we think similarly but bring different strengths to the table. It's a classic yin and yang dynamic. 

One thing we both have in common is always striving to get better at everything we do, whether that's in business, as parents, or in our wellness journeys. I personally love that Alex is always so open-minded about how to evolve and grow the business, continuously optimizing to deliver the best customer experience. Our date nights more often than not turn into planning sessions. We can’t help it, but we love it and are very much in sync.

4. In what ways do your businesses or roles complement each other within Del Mar Village?

Alex: Our day-to-day worlds are very different. I am immersed in the world of eyewear and retail so I’m focused on retail expansion, real estate, eyewear buying and partner relations, whereas Steph’s corporate world provides global perspectives on business, policy and markets, so we feed different energy and perspectives to each other. Sometimes that energy is heavy stress, and other times it’s pure fun.

5. What’s a typical “day in the life” like for the two of you? Any shared routines or rituals?

Steph: We have three boys we like to call our in-house football team. As soon as there’s evidence of sunrise, they are wrestling on the couch and playing baseball exactly where we don't want them to—but we're trying to do that thing every inspirational video tells you to do: cherish the moment.

We typically start the day by going to Pilates together or taking a walk with weighted vests before slipping into the routine of team meetings, strategic planning, and execution. Sometimes we'll sneak in a midday walk or a coffee run, and then we're back at it until sports convene.

The kids keep us busy, especially when we're trying to get them to different fields at the same time. Typically, this includes blasting music on the way to games, a snack-filled car (and them complaining about why all the snacks have to be protein packed without dyes (what a horrible parent I am!?), and then we get on the phone with each other from different locations to talk business and catch up about our days before heading home to a family dinner.

6. How do you stay grounded and connected as a couple while managing the demands of work and community involvement?

Alex: For us, it's all about being on the same page. We love talking about life goals—whether it's about our careers and the never-ending drive to grow, or becoming better parents (why is it so hard?!!)!

And spoken like a classic adult, we’ve gotten super into our wellness and eating whole foods, making time to exercise, and being intentional about doing those things together. Doing this together makes it so much easier.

We also try to sneak in some bonding and plan trips to have time just for us. Our toddler often tries to join in, but we’re ok letting him know he's not invited (cue the sadness when the ginger cries! Yes, our third son is a red head with blue eyes, he’s so cute!)

7. What do you love most about being part of the Del Mar business community?

Steph: I grew up in Del Mar and went to Torrey Pines High School. One of my core memories is zero period where we'd swim in the ocean at 6 a.m and it counted as class credit. It was so exhilarating to get hit with a jolt of energy from the cold water, and looking back, our high school days feel like scenes from a movie.

I spent countless hours on the beach with my family during my childhood. Even after moving to San Francisco early in our relationship, we knew we wanted to return and settle in the neighborhood where I grew up.

Bringing Alex's business to Del Mar felt like a natural next step. We loved the process of creating a space that embodies the coastal California vibe, and we've extended that style to a few other Alexander Daas Opticians locations too.

The Del Mar Village Association and local businesses have been an incredible support system for us. The community feels like home.

8. What are your favorite spots or activities in Del Mar when you're not working?

Steph: We love sneaking away to L'Auberge for a drink, visiting the bookstore with our kids, heading to the top of the plaza to watch the sunset, grabbing appetizers at Sbicca, and enjoying Del Mar Beach with Board & Brew in hand. The sauce—don't forget the sauce. We need a lot of it! I remember when Board & Brew only had one location. So proud of that crew.

9. What advice would you give to other couples considering going into business or working side-by-side in the same community?

Alex: Get on the same page about your goals and each person's superpowers so you have clear roles and treat your relationship as a partnership, with respect. In Alex's business, he's really the sole operator, but we still find ourselves always talking about business and tuning into our strengths.

With that, we really try to create some sort of division between work and family time, especially now that we have kids. We didn't really need to do that before, but now we want to show them that we are present. It takes putting your phone down and being careful about what you say so that they feel like they have our full attention. It takes so much intention and is much harder than we thought!

10. How do you hope to continue contributing to the growth and vibrancy of Del Mar Village in the years ahead?

Alex: We are very thoughtful when it comes to curating the best brands from around the world and maintaining a pulse on the best lens technology in the business. Our opticians are top notch and really know what they are doing, and the community feedback has been incredible. Plus, our independent optometrists are soooo good, everyone from kids to grandmas love them, so we are lucky to have an incredible team.

Expanding our Del Mar location last year was a significant milestone, and it's been incredible to see our community grow, with people visiting us from all over San Diego. With that, when it comes to the Del Mar community, we’d love to see people pushing the boundaries of their eyewear, trying new shapes, colors and sizes, because eyewear really is a staple fashion piece blended with medical utility.  

And we’ll close with our favorite saying that has gone viral a few times: "So you have 50 pairs of shoes and only one pair of glasses? What do people look at first? Your feet or your face?"