Investing In Her Downtown
Cheryl Bennett
Owner, The Spectacle Family Eye Care
Cheryl Bennett is doing what she can to revitalize her downtown. “I’m invested in Petersburg and making it a place where, when kids grow up here, they want to stay and raise their own families here,” she says.
Raised on a dairy farm in Canaan Valley, Bennett knew early on that she loved medicine and that she wanted to be an optometrist. She worked for years in an optometry practice. But when the downtown Petersburg home of Dr. Thomas Grove, a Civil War–era town physician whose family owned the property for generations, went up for sale in 2017, she just had to see it. “As soon as I walked through the door, I knew I belonged there. I wanted and needed to do this.”
Bennett opened her private practice, The Spectacle Family Eye Care, in the former Grove home. “We’ve created an all-inclusive eye health center,” she says. She’s since opened a second office in Buckhannon.
To fill a need in downtown Petersburg, Bennett opened the second floor of the Grove home as an event space. She also gradually renovated a small second building on the property and, in 2021, she opened The Grove Cafe and Bakery, enlivening the heart of the town.
Bennett’s career and life are not just about eyes, says the married mom of three who has dedicated herself to giving back. “It’s about community, family, and health care. I want to help and support my community, and this is how I can do that.”
Written by Megan Huff
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