Chandler explosion: Eyeglass repair shop damaged in 2021 blast reopens

CHANDLER, Ariz. - Feb. 5, 2024 was a big day for an eyeglass repair shop in Chandler.

More than two years ago, a catastrophic blast at a print shop ruined the building and hurt four people, and Feb. 5, 2024 marks the first time customers are inside the All-American Eyeglass Repair.

The person helping customers at the front desk is Glenn Jordan, the eyeglass repair shop's general manager, and one of the four people injured on that fateful day.

"It kinda blew me back. It kept on going backwards, several feet," Jordan recalled.

The explosion happened on Aug. 26, 2021.

"There’s debris flying around. Your eyes are barely open, and there’s stuff in your face," Jordan said. "I looked down at my hands, and they just – they hurt. They were hot. I could see all the skin had fallen off of them."

Second and third-degree burns covered 40% of Jordan's body. At the hospital, shop owner and friend Harriet Lugo grabbed his hand.

"He told me ‘I’ll be back,'" Lugo remembered. "I said ‘I know you will honey,’ and he said ‘I promise you. I will be back.’"

The next few months were full of physical and occupational therapy for Jordan.

"It was baby steps," said Jordan. "Being able to feed yourself, being able to get to the hallway. Being able to make it around the hallway on steps."

All steps worked toward a goal that came true on Feb. 5, 2024.

"It’s one of those days you kind of wake up, and feel like it’s your birthday or anniversary to get back in the store that you spent a lot of time at," said Jordan. "I'm looking forward to seeing more smiles from people. I made it, we’re good, I feel great, we’re going to move on from this."

Investigators discovered the blast came from a print shop a few suites down, and was caused by an unintentional natural gas leak.