Q&A with Painted Door’s Avis Scaramucci: 30th birthday a time to reflect, but also look forward

Editor's note: In September, Chamber member The Painted Door will celebrate its 30th birthday. We sat down with owner Avis Scaramucci to hear about the roots of the business, keys to long-term success, her involvement with various organizations all over OKC, and a little about what’s coming as Old Spaghetti Factory prepares to open their doors in the former Nonna’s space.

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VeloCityOKC: First of all, tell us just a little bit about why you got into business in the first place back in 1991. What were your goals then as a business owner?

Avis Scaramucci: Well, to be honest, we have two children, and for all of their “growing up” years, I was a stay-at-home mom. I have a degree in music education from the University of Oklahoma. But I chose to raise the family and do all of the taxi cab driving and everything that’s required as they grow and be actively involved in whatever they were involved in. So that was what I did. And during those years, I oftentimes thought about the fact that I would just love someday to try my hand at some sort of retail. I wasn't sure if it would be a gift store, or a clothing store or something to do with food, but I have always had a real love for people and taking good care of them.

And though I had no background in retail, it just seemed to me that when I was out and about, the most charming and heartwarming thing was when you went into businesses--of whatever sort--they were happy to see you, and very much wanted to take care of your needs. It's such a great feeling, and you carry it with you.

“I thought, well, surely there's not too much magic to being nice to people and taking good care of them--and I can learn the rest.”

As our youngest son was starting college, it was time to start really putting some of that in place if I could. My husband and I both grew up in homes where our parents were self-employed, so I had a good understanding of that process. I started “poking around” a little bit and as it happened, a gift store--one that was just one of my favorites and had been in business for many years--was going to close within the next 12 months. That made me think that, you know, maybe this is what I need to do, because there will be that niche that's open for someone else. I would have never wanted to go in as a competitor to them, but now it was going to be an opportunity. I visited with them and “picked their brain”--we talked about things, and they were excited to start helping me understand a little bit of the process of buying wholesale and selling retail and what all of that entailed. Of course I also started looking for a spot, and I looked absolutely everywhere all over the metropolitan area. I located on a spot at 86th and South Western which was a real estate office at the time.

The building was in bankruptcy and I believe they were trying to figure out what to do with that space. I just happened to stop one day, and said, “I don't suppose that this building is for sale?” And the poor guy about fell out of his chair because there was no sign posted in front. I found all this out when I got inside. He said, “Oh, absolutely. This building is for sale.”

It was the most favorite spot that I had seen anywhere because we were in such close proximity to the crossroads of America--north, south, east, west. And I had big ideas. I thought that I needed to be a place where it was easily accessible for anyone and everyone to come. Over time, after some negotiations, we purchased that property and I started the remodel.

About the same time, the ladies that were closing my favorite gift store started helping me get some ideas about the Dallas wholesale market, what I needed to do to begin attending, and in general doing homework on gift ideas that I thought might fit. That was all in the beginning. And it was such an exciting time for me. I was getting pretty close to the dream that I had thought about for so long, but it was also scary because I had never, ever in my life prior to then been in retail -- I had never worked as a sales clerk, nothing. I was a little intimidated by that, but I thought, well, surely there's not too much magic to being nice to people and taking good care of them--and I can learn the rest. That was the priority--just welcoming them and taking care of their needs.

Painted Door in 1991

A year and a half into the remodel, everything was done and Painted Door opened, of course, on September the 19th, 1991. I was 44 years of age at the time--and a lot of people made it their business to tell me that they thought that I was a bit old to start a brand new career, especially since I had no previous training in it, and that I also was probably making a mistake by having a freestanding building where I was required to draw my own traffic instead of being in a strip mall or something where traffic came automatically. I thought, well, maybe they're right, but I don't think so. The day of opening, I was really--I tell people this--I was such a wreck and it was such an emotional time because I was finally stepping up and perhaps publicly embarrassing myself in front of God and everybody. It was the grand opening--and what if nobody came, I mean, that would be horrible. And it would be terribly embarrassing. And so when the doors opened, I was in the back gift wrap area, trying to get myself situated, and a little teary-eyed. Finally, my husband came and said, “Are you coming out?” I said, “Well, yes.” He said, “Well, you need to look out the door. People are out here, and they're wondering where you are.” So I will tell you, I looked out that door, just cracked it a little bit. And for as far as I could see—and the building was a pretty good size; it was 7,000 square feet, which is quite a big space--as far as I could see, there was nothing but people -- wow. I was stunned and pleased and just about every emotion was there.

Opening staff at Painted Door

The rest of the story is that I came out on the floor and discovered that there was magic. I have never looked back. It was the most memorable time. And, of course, that business grew over the years. I added on to the building--once for gifts, once for clothing, and once for the starting of a new restaurant, Nonna’s. I opened Nonna’s as just a bakery and I was the baker. I arrived at 5:30 in the morning and baked my recipes for cookies and pies, then opened the gift store at 10. Now I really was “stirring it up,” you know. I had a whole lot of stuff going! People loved the bakery and Nonna’s provided them a place to sit and enjoy their coffee and treats.

And what was the thought process that went into adding on the bakery portion?

I had always thought that food and drinks were such a nice mix with a gift store. And I thought, well, I think I could do that here too... On a funny side-note, my husband, even back then, said, “Now, if you do this bakery thing, you're just going to do a bakery, right?”

Of course, within a year I had decided that I needed to also serve lunch. I got to explain, “I know that I said I wasn't going to do any more, but I do want to add lunch.” He said, “Well, what are you going to do?” I said, “Oh, it'll just be salads and soup, and maybe a little sandwich or something.” He said, “Well, I'm not going to believe you this time, because you're probably going to do more. So we're just going to outfit it for more, and then let's see if you can grow.”

In the meantime, Painted Door was thriving. It was a unique place and time and we had people coming from north, south, east and west on a regular basis… And then it got to the point where I had visitors from out of town. And that was really exciting.

I had to give up being the baker because there are only so many hours in the day. And so I started the hiring process even before I started lunch, because I couldn't keep up with the bakery. It wasn't the most important job or the most enjoyable job I had ever had because that would be making a house, a home and raising our children--but this was the second. It was exciting and I just couldn't get enough of it. I added one more section onto the Painted Door--I got into the clothing business. I had a clothing boutique there, as well as the gifts. I had a full operating kitchen. It was an incredible time. A couple of folks that were investors in Bricktown also happen to be acquaintances of mine and were great customers.  Every time I saw them, they’d say, “You know, you need to come look at Bricktown.” I would say, “Why do I want to move? It's a big deal to have to move. Why do I want to do that?” and they would say, “You just need to come look at Bricktown.” Finally told one of them, “Not to hurt your feelings, but why would anyone really want to invest in such a dark, dangerous and dirty area?” I knew them well enough to say that. He said, “Well, you're going to be surprised -- we're working on it.” I said, “Well, okay, surprise me some time, but I'm here, and I've really got more than I can keep up with.”

So I have to admit, I was starting to pay just a little bit of attention to Bricktown because it kind of aggravated me that they kept bothering me and thinking that I should do something different when obviously I was busy where I was. As the years passed, by 2003, Bricktown was in the headlines almost every day in a positive way. It didn't matter if it was the Journal Record; it didn't matter if it was the Daily Oklahoman. It was just all about Bricktown. I just took off one day and came down to Bricktown and spent the entire day, met every property owner--I had set up appointments, and went through every building down here just to see if there was anything that I might be interested in.

There was this fantastic old building, which is now well over a hundred years old. The interior walls of old brick had been painted bright yellow and canary blue with little booths on the first floor. The second floor was law offices and a beauty shop, if I remember correctly. But boy, was it in a fantastic location--I kind of thought of it as Hollywood and Vine. It was at the corner of Mickey Mantle and Sheridan and right across from the ballpark, right across from the Walnut bridge--which in time became one of the a main entrances into Bricktown--And guess what, it lead right to the building. It was definitely on my mind and as it worked out, we purchased this building.

It took us a little over a one and a half years to remodel. We added on a third floor. We added on to the kitchen area. And so we [situated] Painted Door in the front that still to this day faces on the north side on Sheridan. The Nonna’s [Restaurant] entrance was on the east side with the main floor serving both lunch and dinner menus.  The second and third floors were set up for banquets and private parties. The Purple Bar was also located on the second floor offering casual dining both inside and on the outdoor patio. Well, I didn't know it then, but the Nonna’s restaurant activities were going to be such a driver for Painted Door--incredibly so.

Maybe it was a wedding, maybe it was just a business meeting, maybe it was bridal showers, and maybe it was baby showers. The list is long. And during April and May, all of the family and friends and gatherings for graduation parties--It was remarkable to the point that I hired a lady that did nothing but take care of bookings for Nonna’s and correlate that with Painted Door and any needs that I could take care of with the group--now I really was in the middle of everything. It was such a great opportunity, far more than I ever knew. In a suburban setting, if you have any good fortune at all, there is lots of business, but you probably don't get the traveler, unless they comes to visit their Aunt Sue that lives somewhere in the neighborhood!

And I thought, “I didn't realize how many people were coming and going throughout Oklahoma City.” So boy, did I find that out! It became such a wonderful experience--didn't matter if they were from out of town, out of state--and you probably know this, but it's amazing how many people from Europe actually come to our city also. And I believe the traffic will continue to grow with the opening of the First Americans Museum and the many other new entities that we embrace. What we became at Painted Door and Nonna’s--and it's just still a favorite thing--were ambassadors for Oklahoma City. We welcomed people to our city every single day, told tell them about our City, and shared our hospitality. It truly was, and ever remains, the most exciting opportunity. 

You’ve been such a supporter of the business community and the Oklahoma City community in general. You serve on numerous boards and committees, and the CVB commission. And I was curious about a couple things: Why is that important to you, and second, did that sort of “community minded spirit,” if you will, have any anything to do with the ultimate decision to move to Bricktown, kind of knowing that this was going to be a focus of a lot of the local and city efforts that were happening?

Not really, because when you're starting a new business that you've never had experience in before… I was getting about four hours of sleep working seven days a week for a long period of time… And I had joined a couple of things, but in the back of my mind, I didn't really have time to do much other than work.  However, I thought, one of these days when I get my arms wrapped around this, I want to see what's out there in the community.

When I moved to downtown, I realized there were many activities I really wanted to become involved in--and they all had to do with making our city a better place “to live, work and play,” as our former Mayor Cornett would say. Even though it's not the reason I moved downtown, this was certainly on my mind.

I hosted so many meetings, including the Chamber and lots of the boards--and I still serve on seven of these boards. I met all kinds of people and began learning about the different needs. There are always lots of needs, but I tried to pick ones that I felt I could truly contribute something--You just can't do everything, you know. But I started getting involved in Downtown back then, and specifically the Bricktown board.  There were three or four of us--we laugh about that now, because I don't know that we had bylaws or anything. We were just three or four interested people in Bricktown. I started making it my business to meet the mayor, to meet [then city manager] Jim Couch, to meet the police chief, to meet the people at the heart of the city. They were most receptive and I learned so much. That was the beginning of my public service commitment. I found that I could combine public service and my work and make it mix and match--it was exciting. And the benefit was great… because it gave me such a great understanding of the needs, and how address them. I met lots of wonderful people that to this day remain close and good friends. They're all just a telephone call away, you know, so it really became “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Are you old enough to know who Mr. Rogers is?

Oh, sure.

I loved the idea that I could walk to meetings. You can't do that in a suburban setting you know. As it’s just not designed to be that way. A different concept altogether. And quite honestly, I just immersed myself in that whole process. I was working approximately 65 hours a week, and that was mainly due to the restaurant--it had grown. I now had about 75 employees for the first three quarters and fourth quarter 100 employees.  I was the only owner of both Painted Door and Nonna’s, and though I loved this responsibility, I began noticing in about 2012 I was really becoming homesick because I really was not home!

And I thought, you know, you really should say goodbye to whatever it is you love on your own terms. You don't want to wait until people say, “Gosh, I believe that Avis Scaramucci is really getting tired --things are not quite the same.” You want to say goodbye while people are still actively coming and loving what you do. By January of 2014, I gathered all of the people in the building and announced that on New Year's Eve of 2014, Nonna’s would close its doors after 19 years. And of course, the thought process with most everyone I knew was that I shouldn't announce it that early to my group of people, but I had such a great group of servers and managers.

“Taking good care of people never goes out of style.”

And I thought, you know, I need to let these people know that I have a plan and that this year we're going to make it the greatest year. We're going to be saying how much we have loved it. We're going to tell our customers, we're going to come through the year with such a wonderful experience of enjoying and reliving all of the things, but also letting people know that it's not because of lack of business or boredom or any of those things that we choose to say goodbye. As it worked out, I only lost two people in that year. For the rest of the group--it was like almost a party every day because people knew [about the closing], and we were overwhelmed with business.

And of course in Painted Door, that place was going bonkers. Even though it wasn't closing, there were just people everywhere. New Year’s Eve Nonna’s did close. And I won't tell you I wasn't sad; I was very sad because it was something I loved so much.  But it was the right decision--I knew it in my heart. And I still had my precious Painted Door to fall back on. And I had been thinking there was some things I needed to do in there, but I really hadn't had time to do. Starting in 2015, I knocked out the front wall of Painted Door and expanded to the north with showcase windows, added a kitchen and began really fine tuning my efforts in the gift store.

I employed people in the gift boutique that had served faithfully through all of the time I had been overwhelmed with the ongoing Nonna’s activities. They had taken such good care of Painted Door and now I was ready to grow even more.

Now several years later, I am in the middle of many new projects as well as hiring additional people for the Painted Door in anticipation of Old Spaghetti Factory opening. Old Spaghetti Factory is a large corporate entity to say the least--they have restaurants all over the US.  But a special thing about them is that all of their franchises are family-owned and operated. It makes it a very, very large family business!

Speaking of Old Spaghetti Factory, how’s that going and what kind of opening date are they looking toward?

It’s odd you would ask because just yesterday I sat down with Old Spaghetti Factory to discuss their opening.  We visited about soft openings and a grand opening--so for right now the grand opening is slated for late fall.

"It's time to step up, and let's move on."

And that's pretty exciting. The signs are going up and it now is a really big mess around here. You just can't believe how they have literally transformed their area of the leased space. However, the mess is getting better because they're refining it as it has gone along. It has been so exciting because it has customers excited. They see and hear all this noise going on; they're wanting to know what's up. One of the valets at Mickey Mantle’s, he’s constantly coming down here checking, “Well, when are you guys going to open?” He said, “People ask me all the time. What do I tell them?” There's a lot of excitement--you know, I'm just three doors down from the new Renaissance. I might just mention to them that I'm their handy gift store, but we'll see!

There you go.

The hotel is opening in October and the old Tap Werks building in Bricktown across from Painted Door and Old Spaghetti Factory is also remodeling with new owners and new concept.  There's just a lot of movement, and I am pleased about that, because it's important. It's time to step up, and let's move on.

There are many exciting upcoming events for Painted Door, including our 30th Birthday party, Make-A-Wish Oklahoma - Wish Luncheon, Mistletoe Market, and Midtown Pop-up Shops. Our 30th Birthday celebration date has not just been selected as we will be joining Old Spaghetti Factory for the celebration, so whether in September or October, the party is whenever you make it!

That's true.

For this celebration we plan to do a lunch-and-learn in Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant so that people can enjoy lunch as I teach them how to cook something, gift wrap, how to make a bow, I mean it’s all over the map.

That's awesome.

Yeah, it is. And I would say, on a personal note, to still be able to do what I love to do and be in the middle of lots of activity, I am just very fortunate--very, very fortunate. At this point in my life, this year I turn 75, I can't think of anything I had rather be doing than what I'm doing right now. That's kind of, in a large nutshell--how this has happened--it's been really a wonderful path that I have both created and followed.

It was just a matter of wanting to make things happen. You know, it comes from the person--you can't expect everybody else to step up and say, “Oh, well here, let me help you do this. Let me help you do that.” I had to take that first step and say, “I wanted to get involved. I wanted to do this in my business. I wanted to do this in downtown. I wanted to get involved with the Chamber, including the Convention and Visitors Bureau. I wanted to get involved with all of these things.” We are a gathering of the nicest people.

I know that a big focus of yours is just customer service in general. Do you think that sort of attitude and that focus has helped lead you to where you are and the success you've had in the business?

I do lots of different programs for groups and I'll talk about whatever they would like me to talk about. But one thing I always include, no matter what the subject is, the fact that taking good care of people never goes out of style. It doesn't matter what age you are, who is it that doesn't like to think that they're special--that whatever they have on their mind, that whatever they would need help with, there's somebody there to do it. And that--sincerely--they are invited to just come and make themselves at home. Any age loves that. And as we have moved forward through the years, I would say that I believe there is less and less customer service all the time. Part of that's just because online ordering is a real convenient way to do things, but there's absolutely no warmth, no touch, no feel, no suggestion, no saying, oh, well, let me help you with this.

And I see that people, especially after the shutdown in Oklahoma City, the COVID thing, people are hungry for communication, actually with a person, not on the phone, not on Zoom--although Zoom has been our savior, has it not? I mean, what would we have done without it--but they love to come and have hands-on experiences. Again, you see it in food. And I have certainly seen it in the Painted Door. So I think things come full circle. I think we're in a time now where it's meaningful--that customer service is really more important to people than ever--it doesn't matter what kind of businesses it is, even changing your tire or the dentist--It does not matter. People that are greeted sincerely and have their needs taken care of? They don't forget that--they just don't.

My business has always been built on customer service because that's just what I knew.

If you could boil down to one thing that you're most proud of as you enter your 30th year in business with Painted Door, what would you say that would be?

Well, I would have to say that I have had the pleasure in 30 years to meet many different people from everywhere, including our own hometown, with many different ideas. People in all walks of life. And I don't think that everyone has that opportunity. I have just been positioned in a setting where I was able to meet people and grow that relationship. Even people from out of town, when they're close to Oklahoma City, they stop by. I don't think that would have ever happened if I hadn't, many years ago, had an idea to start a business that involved working with people that led to working with my city. None of that would have happened if it had not been for the Painted Door. And I value all of those experiences to this very day. You must have a heart that is willing to serve and enjoy, whether it's to the customer or to the community, it's important. And I found an avenue to do that, and I kind of, in a way, stumbled onto it. And I had the good fortune of understanding that I had stumbled onto a little bit of magic, and I loved that magic.

"We all have different opinions, but the one opinion that we all agree on, the one idea that we all agree on, is we love this city and we want it to prosper and we want it to move forward. It’s very unique."

"I surround myself with people that can do so many things better than I, which allows me to do other things better perhaps than they and together we can accomplish much"--there’s the magic! Why would I ever want to leave that? You know, it is work--there are some days when I'm pretty darn tired--but it's a pleasure. It is. My work is my pleasure. I have no plans to retire.

As you look to Oklahoma City's future in general, what do you look forward to most for our city?

Well, right now, I think we're all looking forward to this [MAPS 3] convention center and all of the people in the Chamber and CVB that draw people to our city, whether it's under Zac [Craig] or Roy [Williams], both entities, their mission is to bring people to Oklahoma City. And that kind of goes hand-in-hand, you know--so many people that come to Oklahoma City for conventions end up like, “Wow, this is a great place to live, to work and to play.” And they become our residents, our businesspeople. I look forward to a time when we can actively begin to bring in all of the conventions again. That's important to the city of Oklahoma City. It's important for our growth. It's important for our finances. It's just a driver.

I look forward to Scissortail Park, continuing to maintain its beautiful position. I look forward to seeing all of downtown “proper,” as there is so much construction ongoing.  It's a big mess trying to get anywhere downtown unless you’re walking--but you know, it's progress. It is truly progress. I look forward to the growth of the streetcar fulfilling more needs of transporting people. I think that we as a city have done such a great job of maintaining the commitment to our city and the excitement of still thinking about the future.

Even through the darkest of COVID time, we didn't all just shut down and say, “Well, enough of this, I've had it. I'm not going to keep pushing forward. I'm not going to do that. It's too much work.” I don't think we did that at all. I think we continued, as we could, to move forward and to work together. And that's kind of unique in our city. It's not that we all have the same idea. We all have different opinions, but the one opinion that we all agree on, the one idea that we all agree on, is we love this city and we want it to prosper and we want it to move forward. It’s very unique.

So even during that dark time, if you watched, you could see still there were people moving forward. A lot of cities had collapsed during that time--they just couldn't hold things together. There was not a group of people dedicated to doing that--I think if you can get through those times, there's nothing but sunshine ahead. There are always problems, but they're just problems to be solved, and we are a city and state that have repeatedly done that. We are Oklahoma!