August 17, 2023 • 33 mins
In 2016, Scarr Pimentel founded Scarr's Pizza, a classic New York City pizzeria on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
In the years that followed, Scarr's would become one of the hottest restaurants in New York, and be crowned “Best Slice in NYC.” But with these massive expectations would come unexpected challenges that would push the Scarr's team to their limits.
On this week's episode of All Angles, we talk with founder Scarr Pimentel, his wife and marketing director Meagan Pimentel, as well as close friend and collaborator DJ Clark Kent, to hear the full story behind the rise of Scarr's Pizza.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
My investor buddy that I've known for a long time.
He just showed up on my prav and he goes like, look,
here's fifty riots.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Is do it?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I wait, do what? And he was like, I want
you to open the shop. I know someone to do well.
And that was the first step. He came with a
plastic bag with fifty rock.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Welcome to Idea Generations All Angles, a podcast about culture's
most influential brands and the teams that built them. If
you're an entrepreneur, creative, or anyone interested in harnessing the
power of collaboration, join me Noah Callahan Bever each week
as we dissect the most dynamic companies in culture, because
(00:48):
the only way to truly understand success is to look
at it from all angles. Idea Generations All Angles is
a Will Packer Media podcast. In twenty sixteen, Scar Pimantel
founded Scars Pizza, a classic New York City pizza rha
(01:10):
on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In the years
that followed, Scars would become one of the hottest restaurants
in New York and be crowned the best slice in NYC.
But with these massive expectations would come unexpected challenges that
would push the Scars team to their limit. On this
week's episode of All Angles, we talked to founder Scar Pimantel,
his wife and marketing director Megan Pimintell, as well as
(01:31):
their close friend and collaborator DJ Clark Kent to hear
the full story behind the rise of Scars Pizza. But
before any of that happened, years before a collaboration with
Nike or jumping into the world of Omakase, Scar was
just a teenager in the Bronx trying to figure out
his future.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
That was growing up. I mean I couldn't figure it
out up until I don't know what third grade. I
want to be a pilot. Then I'm afraid of flying.
I was like, no, that ain't happening.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
This is Scar Pimantel, owner of Scars Pizza.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Honestly, growing up here in that era was you know
how they say, and you either play sports, you know
you deal drugs. It was one of the other.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Growing up in the Bronx, Entrepreneurship wasn't necessarily on Scar's mind.
Survival was. But Scar's family was active in the service industry,
and from an early age, Scar would get glimpses of
life as a restaurant worker and owner.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
And then one day I was with my grandmother and
I saw how she used to be a waitress in
a restaurant in the Upper West Side and a dieting
and I always liked that environment. My dad had a
diner in the bron room kids for like a little bit,
and I always liked restaurant environments. Wasn't a good student.
I dropped out of high school, and it was that's
one thing I always always liked. That was I knew
I wanted to be in the food industy for the
(02:41):
most part, so I just decided. I was like, you know,
I don't want to open up my restaurant. Even I
don't want to own a restaurant, but I didn't have
the money for it. Figure it out.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Scar wanted to open a restaurant, but it felt more
like a pipe dream than an actual possibility, so we
continued to work odd jobs and hustle his way through life.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
I didn't like structure, like I didn't like going to
school because I didn't like feeling like I was going
to jail, like you know, line up here, do this that.
I didn't like taking order some people or direction for people.
I was, you know, I was a knuckle I think
I saw some beepers that was selling beepers on to
Fifth like a year and a half, two years, and
then I liked that. But it was you know, it
wasn't a career thing, you know, it was just something
to make money with that was cool. Like I met
like a lot of rappers there. I met Jim Jones.
(03:20):
We still get this to him. You know, he probably
doesn't remember. This is when Cameron first was blowing up,
so he would tag along, you know, not tagling, but
they I guess he was his hype man at the time.
I don't remember, but no one knew who Jim was
on outside of Harlem, so he would be with Cameron
Cam was blowing up, and he would always he had
his next wi I page it with us, with the
people that were with us, So he would always lose
it on to a that show or on the show,
(03:41):
come back like the following week. We don't come up
like you with dis kound like whatever, just keep it pushing.
And we met Cam. We met I met before when
he was blowing up one hundred and twenty Fifth Street
at the time was like a completely different world to
what I was because I lived on Want thirty eight time,
so Harlem was like that was like my first real
experience inside hall, Like I didn't grow up at home
(04:01):
because we didn't consider Hamilton and Wan thirty eight calm
at the time. We just called everything uptown and that
was like my first taste and experience of living in
Harlem and meeting new people and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Scar continued to search for an occupation, but nothing seemed
to stick for me.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Obviously, I would never be a cop. I would never
be in the military, so I was like, you know,
what else can I do? You know, I tried the
office life. It wasn't for me, so I was like, yo,
what could I do? That's different? And I had fun
when I worked as a buswiy that was you know,
That's when I was like, Okay, it's coool. I tried
some other things.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
When I got older, scar renentered the service industry and
instantly knew that he found his calling. He gradually made
his way from busboy to the kitchen and eventually became
a consultant, working with restaurants on their menus. This led
to him making dozens of connections in the New York
City food scene that would change his life professionally and personally.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
So I met Scar in two thousand and seven. One
of my really good friends was dating his really good friends.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
This is Megan piminto Scar's wife and business park.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
When he was consulting his last consulting job, the whole
like Pizza program took off. They were supposed to be
like a farm to table type restaurant, like Seasonal, and
then they had a pizza oven, and so they hired
Scar to provide them with recipes, teach the chef how
to make pizza, all of that, and then the pizza
(05:23):
was the only thing making press or getting press from
that restaurant, and so they kind of turned into a pizzeria.
I think that's when we realized, We're like, oh, you
should just do this on your own and like work
for yourself.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Scars broad dream of owning a restaurant suddenly developed a
singular focus pizza.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
I don't know what it's going to be pizza until
I've worked at a pizzeria. That's what I was like, this
is it because it's just the idea of a pizzeria.
It's like when I used to work one back in
you know, back then it was like he had everything,
every walk of life, every race. Everyone would just burger
wed the pizzeri had just made too much sense. That's
the mostly your aspect of a slight shop. So that's
so I was like, you know what this is, this
is what I want to do. So I just you know, learned,
(06:02):
got dood at it, and made a healthier version of it.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
There's no shortage of pizza in New York City, so
for Scar to have success within a crowded market, he
need to find a way to differentiate his slice. But
instead of going for gimmicks and outlandish topping combos, Scar
focused on the most important aspect, the quality of the
pie itself.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
The plan was always we're going to do something that's
healthy alternatives because people don't know a lot of people
still don't want to accept it. Understand. They're like the
pizza you eat even in your neighborhood spot. I'm not
trying to like downplay like neighborhood spot, but like they
don't use good stuff ever, and they're charging you two
three dollars for it. So I said, you know, and
if I could charge it a little more and make
it at least mostly organic, and if we can't get
our getting stuff, make it all natural, which none of
(06:41):
them are, like, at least it's a healthy option for people.
But it wasn't about like crazy topics like Garada cheese
and all this other craft. You know what I'm saying.
It's just straight up New York South pizza, like the
stuff we grew up eating, simple stuff and make it healthy.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Scar had his vision and his recipe, but he was
still missing one vital part, the capital to open a shop.
So we started seeking out potential investors.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
My family wouldn't they were like a pizza place. They
none of them wanted him put no money into it.
I was like, all right, cool whatever, I figured it out.
If it wasn't you know what I'm saying. They were
like nah, you know, and ain't no banks lending you money,
you know what I'm saying. So it's like, fuck it.
I figured out on my own. I was supposed to
be one of my best friends that I grew up with,
and he backed out like twice off me, and I
was like, bro, I'm like, you know, I've knowned since
(07:25):
I was like nine. I'm like, dude, we're gonna do
it for and he thought I was going after him
for money and I'm like, nah, but like and then
I don't know, he fell out of me, you know
twice and I was like it was kind of, you know, disupporting.
And then my investor buddy that I've known for a
long time, he just showed up in my crib and
he was like, look, here has fifty rackses do it.
I was like, do what. He was like, I want
you to open the shop. I know someone to do well.
(07:46):
And that was the first step. And that was it.
He came with a plastic bag with fifty rocks. He
was like, yeah's.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
I was there when our friend came over and gave
him the original money and it's every It's true. And
a friend came. He's like, here you go. He knew
it was a good idea. I knew it was a
good idea.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
With fifty thousand dollars cash in hand, Scar searched for
the perfect location for his shop.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
I remember one of his good friends, Mike Wench, who
owns Bowery Paul Room. He told Scar, as long as
you have the space, that's when people will take you seriously.
And it was one hundred percent trough. The second he
used to had a lease going, that's when people started
being taking him more seriously.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
So Downtown's always been a big part of my life
growing up. So like before my cousins got locked up,
they used to come down to downtown. They used to
do the hustle downtown, and they used to always come
back looking fresh. They used to call it downtown. They
used to either call it Downtown or the Ville when
they used to come out here, and I used to
go get phazed at Astrolayer. That's the place. Then I
started going to my dudes on Hamilton, but I used
(08:54):
to always be downtown. They used to drive me the
Canal Jeans, the original location, which is where it blooming
does this now on Broadway. I just fell in love
with downtown. I worked in Blados. I always knew it
was going to be Downtown. It was the universe, like
the universe, and in terms of fashion, music or everything,
it's the capital of that downtown Manhattan, not Brooklyn, not
anywhere else. You know, nothing against no other neighborhoods. I
(09:14):
always had a connection to downtown, so it always made
sense for me to open up on it.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
With Downtown on his mind, Scar found the perfect space
at twenty two Orchard Street in the Lower East Side,
with a simple but classic sign on the outside and
an interior complete with wood panels, movie posters, and other
nostalgic touches. Scar's Pizza officially opened in twenty sixteen, but
now came time to face the music and to see
if his idea for a throwback pizza Rhea could actually
(09:45):
survive in the competitive New York City food landscape.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
When we first opened, it was me Lows, Megan, and
and like one or two my one of my vessels
picked city wanted to work. He only lasted like a
month tops. He was like in the same I can't
work this. And then we had a hire employees after
the first month. But we were there like one hundred
hours a week and stuff like that, so crazy hours
(10:08):
all of us. And my wife worked a job and
then she would come at night to help pitch you.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
I was running social media at this luxury accessories company.
That was what helped us survive the first couple of years.
Just some mega corporation that had really cheat benefits, you know,
paid well. I made good money, so I just had
to do that in order to survive. In the beginning.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Within the first six months, I was like, yeah, me.
I was like, I'll figure something else out. But you know,
we did it. We got audited the first six months.
I was like, its great, someone like routed us out
to I know who rounded us out to, Like because
I didn't know this, you could actually follow a complaint
to the apartment attacks or whatever in the state like
New Young Department IRSH for the New York State and stuff,
(10:55):
and they called us and said that we you know whatever,
and they started they audited me. I was like, wow, account.
I was like, I've never seen anyone get audited their
first year, you know, like wild stuff like that. You know,
surveillance squads used to drive by the shop, stuff like that.
So like it is all good whatever. There's a part
of things that other people don't go don't have to
deal with that I had to deal with when we
first open, Like we we overcame a lot more so
(11:17):
than more people would.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
This like the first business that I've ever built from
the ground up, So you really don't know what to expect.
I don't think I had any expectations at all. I
was obviously really happy in the first few months. It
was super exciting. So even though you're like working nine
to five, I was working up the office was in Kytown,
come home, shower, and then work the back area to
(11:42):
help break down all of that. You know, if they
needed a body just to like be the cashier for
the day, I was that person. After a while, I
did get tired. Not gonna lie, but I think it's
just so new and exciting that you don't know any
of the issues. It's just kind of like it is
(12:03):
what it is, And I think that's being so naive
about the whole process also kind of its own blessing
because you don't I guess you don't get really hung
up on certain things because we didn't have like a
safety net to fall back on. We put every penning
we had into this, so you just have to do it.
If there's no fallback plan, what do you do. You
(12:25):
just keep moving forward and you just push throws. That
was like the first couple of years too, until we
started growing and getting proper staff.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
The Scars team fought on and soon the shop started
to solidify itself as a neighborhood spot. As it grew,
it also caught the attention of locals and celebrities.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Alike my boy AUTI.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
I mean, this had to be like weeks into them opening.
He was like, Yo, you got to come check out
my man's pizza shop.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
This is hip hop legend and God's favorite DJ Clark Kent.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
And I was like, okay, cool.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
And I was down there doing an event and I
went by and I met him, but before I really
even gave him the attention, it was I got to
taste the pizza because I might never come back here again.
So when I tasted the pizza, I was like, oh shit,
now you got something. And then it struck me that
this guy is he's not Italian, Like wait a minute,
(13:27):
he wait?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
They look like me. He looks like me.
Speaker 5 (13:30):
I'm like, wait a minute, this ain't.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Right for people who look like me to have a
pizza shop that tastes better than everyone else's pizza. And
we talked and and we automatically became cool because our
ideals as people were the same, you know, and as
as kids.
Speaker 5 (13:48):
Who came from the street. And you know, I looked him,
I looked at him with a with a.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Respect that I would give the kids that I came
up with, the guys that I came up with. He
was like a generation and under the guys I came
up with, and his heroes were us. But I made
sure that between him and I, it wouldn't be a
hero situation. It would be a no, we're going to
be friends, And we became friends quickly.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
The buzz around Scars kept growing within the neighborhood, and
with the community behind them, Scars became the place to be.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
A big part of the success is our friends and
the community that support, like our neighbors that support us
and have like from day one, and they still continue
to do so, so that'll always drive a restaurant, and
like their success is just having the support of other people,
especially your neighborhood. We didn't really get much press in
(14:41):
the beginning, honestly, and we weren't even that busy. We
get like local stuff, just like, oh this pizzeria opened,
you know, no big deal, like in terms of what
they were writing about. Maybe do like a photo shoot
here or there at the shop because they liked how
it looked. And then it just kind of picked up
steam after a while.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Seen we did some vice Thinglosa didn't want to do it,
and I was just like, fuck, let's let's do it cool.
Let's do one when no one's ever seen anyone doing drugs,
because you know, they expect you to do those those
foodie things and like smoke weed, get white. You know
what I'm saying, Like do some corny stuff. I told it,
my mom is gonna watch. I want to Even if
I did all that, I wouldn't want to put it
on camera. So we did the device thing I think first,
(15:21):
and that was whatever the chef's night out stuff. The
second thing that happened was the bon appting.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
In Jude of twenty eighteen, bon Appetite published an article
What's the best New York Slice? I ated thirty pizza
joyts to find out? In the future, writer Alex Delaney
dubbed scars the best slice in NYC. Putting a white
hot spotlight on twenty two orchards.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
The thing comes out. I was like, what's going you know,
I didn't know what was going on. And then like
we had lined out the door the next two days
and I was like this is crazy. I was like, bro,
you guys have to get my zempies do stuff like this,
you know what I'm saying, Like, I wasn't prepared for
this stuff because I didn't know, you know, I didn't
know they were doing stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
The new attention quickly changed the dynamic of the business.
It's one thing to be a neighborhood pizza shop serving
up for locals and random passers by. It's another thing
to operate as a hotspot and the always buzzing New
York City foodie scene.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Well. Fortunately I used to work in some of the
busiest spots in the city, so I knew how to
handle bungs. I mean, we just didn't the best we could.
Like I couldn't get mad at those like put my
head down and they would have cooked and did what
I could. You know, we ran out of pizza was
two that week.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
I don't love seeing the line. It actually makes me
super anxious because I don't want people like having to
wait really like long time for their food. It happens.
It's just there's only so much pizza the like our
team can produce, and like within a certain amount of time.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
We're running out of pizza, like at five six. So,
I mean it was tough. You know. The worst thing
is just saying no to be like you don't have
any food. I'm like people man, and I came on
to you. I'm like, girl, I'm like, I have no mine.
It's not about fat, It's not not gonna do. So
what do you want me to do? Like we literally
got no food. I'll ins fot out of the boy
slice around the corner because I'm like, I don't know,
I don't know how to I'm sorry, like I apologized,
(17:05):
like I don't know what to do.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
The shop withstood the initial surge from their coronation as
the best pizza in New York City, but as time
went on, the hype didn't die down. Everyone who tasted
the pizza or stepped foot inside the shop instantly became
a repeat customer. Going to the shop felt like going home,
and the people were hooked.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
We always said, it's like, you know, we're for everybody.
The shop's for everybody. It's an extension of our living room,
So come on if you want to hang out.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
I actually thought it was perfect because it automatically brought
me back to when I was a kid and we
had this. We had a place called Tony's Pizza rea
up the block for me, and it looked like that.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
It was wall paneling and a few seats in the
back and it looked like a.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Real hood Brooklyn pizza shop and I loved it.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
As the Scars brand grew, Irl Megan, armed with their
background in marketing, started to put more we're focused into
their online presence. But just as they did with their
physical store, Scar's social presence would be unlike any other
pizza account out there.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
When we first opened, I would just make sure that
everything was set up it looked good, like literally posting
to Instagram whenever we needed to to, like, you know,
talk about our updated hours, whatever we're closed this day.
So it was whatever they needed. But then as we
started growing, it was more focusing on the brand.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
She's good at marketing, that's her forte, so social media
and all that stuff. Like I'd be like, oh, let
me post this, and She's like, nah, no't do that.
That's not a good look. I was like, Okay, Then
it turns out it was right. We keep it to
a minimum on purpose, like we don't post food pics
on our Instagram because it's like every place does that.
She tells me, shut up. She's like, hey, if you
open up your ig feed right or you're whatever. The
(18:49):
first thing that pops out of food people pulling pizza
apart of burrogetarian burgers in half or takes it. Why
don't you get tired of it? I was like, yeah,
it's fucking annoying. Yeah. We were like, you know what,
I'm not doing it. That's how we don't have any
real posts and we don't never post anything on our Instagram.
You know.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
I see a lot of places they focus so much
on Instagram or link just social media in general, and
then they end up becoming this company that like relies
on Instagrams, like you have to post every day and
you have to do this type of post and reels.
And I was just like, well, yeah, obviously you want to.
You want us to post every day because it makes
(19:27):
you look better as an app. But I was like,
what am I getting out of it in return? You know,
if people don't want to see that kind of stuff,
so what's the big Like why why do it? Then
you just have to follow these arbitrary trends that the
corporations them theselves set up. So now it's like everyone's
like video, do video? Everyone wants video. It's like the
(19:49):
apps are telling you this, but you don't necessarily need
so if you build this whole program or if your
success is dependent on like social media that I for me,
I was just like, that's never what I wanted Scars
to be. And it never started off like that, like
you said, it started off as restaurant, sort of as
a pizzeri. Yeah, and then the Instagram is just the
(20:11):
easiest way for us to communicate stuff to people.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Like if we actually did start posting photos of pizza
and burgers and sandwiches and stuff like that every day
where we have more followers. Yeah, but it's like, like
she says, it's like, it's not about the amount of
followers you have, it's about the point. It's the quality
of the follower you have. You could be there's gonna
be another pizzeria that's two hundred thousand fowers and we
have fifty. She really explains to me that makes sense.
(20:36):
He's like, your value is the polity. Like if you
go through your people you follow who follow you, you
have people that are creating directors at the top fashion brands.
You have people that these people don't have that the
other places they might have changed that, but it's all
a bunch of FOODI people following other FOODI people or
fake accounts following you, you know what I'm saying. So
it's like you have actual, real quality followers, Like you
have powerful people in the world following you. You have
(20:57):
people powerful people in the Middle East. You have part
like these are people I known for us. You know,
you have powerful people in fashion couches like this is.
You know, we have powerful people that don't sneaker like
they all follow you. Like you know, it's like even
though you don't post nothing, they still follow, you know,
and that shows more than what that person that other brand,
or that other pizzeria or that on the restaurant or
whatever has two hundred thousand dollars, you know.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
If you're trying to chase the trend and then you're
just competing with very similar product and then you're just
noise in the background. Like a Scar always says this too.
He's like, if we post photos of pizza every day
and the next pizzeria next door to us is doing
the same thing, what makes you different, Like besides your font,
(21:42):
you know, it's like your style of photography or video whatever.
I think a lot of businesses also try to like
emulate and copy what other successful businesses are doing, which
which can work. It's not to say you don't ever
do that. You can always like pick up stuff, but
I think you have an app saying like, oh, like
they use this one brand as an example of like
(22:04):
look how amazing they are, and then everyone just copies it,
and then you all look the same, and then everyone
gets tired of it, and then it's just onto the
next trend, and so you're just constantly chasing something that
isn't even you. So that's why I was like, you know,
for us, Instagram was always just it's where most of
like the people that we know are on, but I
(22:25):
don't use it because it's like what it doesn't for us,
it doesn't matter, you know. It's like we're a restaurant.
We have a location and that's where all the action's at.
It's not online. For us.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
We became people with each other and it became I
care about your family, and he cares about my family,
and I care about you know, his business, and I
care about his friends, and I care about his I
literally care about his family. Like his wife Megan is
a friend. You know what I'm saying, Like, we're all friends.
It's not just because you own Scots. It's because you
(22:58):
are scot and because of that, we would end up
talking about shit that mattered to us.
Speaker 4 (23:04):
You really have to just have like it's a human
or human interaction. That's what it all comes down to.
And I tell I tell the staff too. All the time.
I was like, treat everyone like it's Scar's mom walking in.
They don't always they don't always act like that. Sometimes
some people really rub them the wrong way. But for me,
especially when you operate a restaurant, it's like, you want
(23:25):
people to enjoy themselves. They're coming to you, they're spending
their hard earned money on something that you made. You
don't It's like, you don't need to be mean to them.
You don't need to be any type of way except
just nice and polite.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
With a popping brand and physical location, but an indifference
towards social media, Scars still wanted to grow the brand
in other ways, so we started to explore the world
of collaborations and find other brands to partner with. Little
did he know that would lead to a six figure
pair of sneakers.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Let's do that. We used to work with another brand.
Sneaker approached us. It was like, oh, whatever about doing
a collab or some sort. So I was like, I
didn't know if I wanted to do stuff like that
at the time, so I told him politely. I was like, hey, listen,
let me think about it right now. I don't want
to really really want to do it right now. I
guess they took the drawnway fast forward a few months
and I was like, you know what, I feel like
(24:16):
I hit the person. I was like, yo, you know what,
I think we should Let's do a collab like whatever,
let's just do it. And I think they kind of like,
how do you say this? Kind of like geek me out?
It was like they were like nah, they kind of
said and put like like, oh yeah, we could send
some shoes and stuff like, you know, trying to like,
you know, not want to do with me. I was
like cool, whatever. So so I was like what else,
(24:38):
you know, what the fuck it? I ain't do it
doing it with fuck the money. Then I hit up
Clock and I was I was like kind of mad.
I hit up Clock. I was like, yo, Clock, let's
do this, slick man, Let's figure out how to do this,
like we gotta do it in the streets. We got.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
Like we all love air Force one.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
It was yo, we don't, but we did at Scars
Air Force one, and I was just like, let me
make a call to call and designed it and it happened.
And I think what made it simple for it to
happen is because of the story that I told Nike
about how it's disenfranchised kids who opened up pizza shop
(25:14):
and now it's going crazy. It's really it was rated
the best pizza in New York for like two or
three years straight.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
And we made this shoe to commemorate the story of
these this.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Ghetto kid who doesn't look like a pizza shop owner,
but it's.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
A story to us.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
And we played off of what really matters to us
we in New York, guys, and New York is what.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
The Sky's Pizza looks like.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
If you look at the logo, it's the logo is
orange and royal blue like next and Mets.
Speaker 5 (25:45):
You know what I'm saying, it's New York shit.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
And so I made the shoe, you know, responsive to
our love for New York City.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
I put a New York City flag on the back
of the shoot. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
But I did what I thought would be right for
presenting this story.
Speaker 5 (26:01):
In this friendship. It was really about him and I as friendship.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
I was so proud of him because I don't know
any other small, up and coming pizzerias that had that
kind of opportunity. It was just really great to see
him so excited. I just was just so proud of him.
It's like, look at what you built, look at what
you made. You know, Scar had this boss a long
(26:27):
time ago. It's like when we were dating, who literally
told him, you're never going to have your own business.
You're too stupid to have your own business. Not that
we took him seriously at all, but it's just he
had a lot of people like that in his life
that he worked with that he knew that try to
always discourage him, and I don't know, look at what
(26:51):
he made, you know, you can't help but be proud.
I'm even even when I meet people for the first
time and they tell me they've been to the shop,
that makes me so happy. I'm so proud. I'm like
honored that they even went there. So for the Nikes.
I don't know it was I didn't realize it would
turn into something this big again. It's like, you this
(27:12):
is like first time handling something like this, you know,
or like working with Nike for friends and family shoe.
You don't really know what to expect or have any
expectations whatsoever. So for it to still have kind of
some momentum, it's cool to see.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Momentum is an understatement. The Scars x Nike air Force one,
limited to around forty pairs and gifted to close friends
and family, quickly became one of the most sought after
sneakers on the planet. Lebron James was seen wearing a pair,
and one pair even made its way to Southerby's auction house,
ending with a staggering sale price of one hundred and
twenty thousand dollars. However, the global recognition of the brand
(27:55):
was starting to make the Orchard location feel a little
too small.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I knew we needed worthpace. I was actually a go.
She didn't take the space next to us. We definitely
Even this is like three years ago, people are like, oh,
the place is small. I'm like, yeah, we're working on
it takes time. COVID happened, you know, shit happens whatever.
Then the landlord of the space for the new space
came to mean. It was like, hey, this space is available.
We want. I guess he was sitting empty for a
few months and I didn't know, so I went across
(28:18):
the street I saw it. I was like, oh wow,
it's a huge space. This would be perfect. So that
was it. We signed the lease and that was it.
The new space is a different design, but the good energy.
We're doing more of a sit down. We're gonna start
taking reservations for like, We're gonna do it more like
a pizza parlor. Stuff in the back, put the seating
in the back of the bar, and everything is in.
(28:39):
So we're gonna do like cow zones, not six, like
you know, the simple things like small things. Maybe won't
add another stylet. I just I'm not going to overcomplicate
it because people are just going to the shelf and
eat pizza anyway. Just a space where people could come
groups of five, six, seven, eight, four, whatever, sit comfortable,
order your pizza, have a good time. Keep it simple,
like done.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Even with a larger space opening across the street, the
Scars team is still keeping the original location but giving
it a new take.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
We're doing Omakase spot inside the original Stars. We decided
to keep those spots and we're doing it under one
of Knakazawa's proteges. We're keeping the same design. We're just
changing the seats to more comfortable seats were bags, and
we're keeping everything else the booths, and then we're changing
the movie posters to Japanese versions of the movie posters.
That's it. Everything's going to be the same for the
(29:28):
most part. It had a tasting, a couple of tastings.
It was really good, so I'm happy. I'm happy with them.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
You know, like in Tokyo, you have to have walked
through a hallway and there's like different restaurants in one
little area. That was kind of like the idea. So
in the back it's going to turn into amacasse, and
then the front we're going to just focus because we
have so many people that want vegans, We're going to
focus on just like basically like a vegan sligh shop.
(29:55):
So the new location, it'll be the same set up,
just way bigger. So you have your slight shop in
the front bar and seating in the back with like
the regular menu, and then at the original spot that
will focus on vegan.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Vegan. I'm a simple dude, so it's like I want
to keep everything as simple as possible. And if like
I love going to Japan, like I love how fish
in Japan is, and then and that's the same way,
like I like how everything is super efficient, even everything
from I ad mind that, everything from design to food,
everything superfficient and simple and easy. I've always been that
with I don't like to waste some time and stuff.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
With the restaurant having more success than Scars ever could
have dreamed of, a new goal has emerged to be
a beacon of hope for young kids like him and
to be an example of what they can achieve.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Well, because of where it is, it should be a
beacon of hope for those who come from the Lower
East Side, and then it also should be the same
beacon or kids who come from anywhere in New Year
or who don't look like what a pizza shop owner
would look like. And it should be able to it
should be able to give people the impression that you
(31:09):
can really do anything if you really believe it, and
you study it and you and you want to make
it right, and then you get to do it, and then.
Speaker 5 (31:17):
When you do it, you do it properly, and then
people can resonate.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
It resonates with people in a way that makes it
a destination and.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
A place to go.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
It should be a beacon of hope for those who
don't believe that things can happen like that, for people
like us.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
I will say very proud of Scar for believing in
himself and doing this, because he really did put this
together on his own, and every wood panel and everything,
every design, every recipe, it's all Scar.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
In the end, we just do it for people that
come after us. You know what I'm saying. We want
them to do better than using. You know, like Clark says,
like I want you guys to do better than me,
And then they get people to come after us, we
want them to do better than all of them. And
that's the goal. That's always been the goal. Try to
help each out out like that.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Scars story is one of persistence, authenticity, and community. When
Scar couldn't figure out his career path, he kept at
it and eventually found his way into restaurants and when
the team went to open Scars Pizza, the goal was
to make a space that was true to their vision
and didn't try to be anyone else. And once the
business was up and running, it was the community that
helped them thrive and turned scars pizza into a New
(32:29):
York City institution no matter how you slice it. If
(32:49):
you've enjoyed this episode, please don't hesitate to like, comment DM,
or tell a friend to tell a friend about Idea
Generation and the All Angles Podcast. We can't do any
this without your help, and honestly, your support means everything.
We do this for you, and we can't do it
without you. This episode was brought to you by Will Packer.
(33:10):
Executive produced by John Valachik and Helena Ox. Original music
by Valentine Fritz, edit and sound mixed by Nonsensible Production,
and hosted by me Idea Generation founder Noah Callahan bever
Idea Generations. All Angles is a Will Packer media podcast
My investor buddy that I've known for a long time.
He just showed up on my prav and he goes like, look,
here's fifty riots.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Is do it?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I wait, do what? And he was like, I want
you to open the shop. I know someone to do well.
And that was the first step. He came with a
plastic bag with fifty rock.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Welcome to Idea Generations All Angles, a podcast about culture's
most influential brands and the teams that built them. If
you're an entrepreneur, creative, or anyone interested in harnessing the
power of collaboration, join me Noah Callahan Bever each week
as we dissect the most dynamic companies in culture, because
(00:48):
the only way to truly understand success is to look
at it from all angles. Idea Generations All Angles is
a Will Packer Media podcast. In twenty sixteen, Scar Pimantel
founded Scars Pizza, a classic New York City pizza rha
(01:10):
on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In the years
that followed, Scars would become one of the hottest restaurants
in New York and be crowned the best slice in NYC.
But with these massive expectations would come unexpected challenges that
would push the Scars team to their limit. On this
week's episode of All Angles, we talked to founder Scar Pimantel,
his wife and marketing director Megan Pimintell, as well as
(01:31):
their close friend and collaborator DJ Clark Kent to hear
the full story behind the rise of Scars Pizza. But
before any of that happened, years before a collaboration with
Nike or jumping into the world of Omakase, Scar was
just a teenager in the Bronx trying to figure out
his future.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
That was growing up. I mean I couldn't figure it
out up until I don't know what third grade. I
want to be a pilot. Then I'm afraid of flying.
I was like, no, that ain't happening.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
This is Scar Pimantel, owner of Scars Pizza.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Honestly, growing up here in that era was you know
how they say, and you either play sports, you know
you deal drugs. It was one of the other.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Growing up in the Bronx, Entrepreneurship wasn't necessarily on Scar's mind.
Survival was. But Scar's family was active in the service industry,
and from an early age, Scar would get glimpses of
life as a restaurant worker and owner.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
And then one day I was with my grandmother and
I saw how she used to be a waitress in
a restaurant in the Upper West Side and a dieting
and I always liked that environment. My dad had a
diner in the bron room kids for like a little bit,
and I always liked restaurant environments. Wasn't a good student.
I dropped out of high school, and it was that's
one thing I always always liked. That was I knew
I wanted to be in the food industy for the
(02:41):
most part, so I just decided. I was like, you know,
I don't want to open up my restaurant. Even I
don't want to own a restaurant, but I didn't have
the money for it. Figure it out.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Scar wanted to open a restaurant, but it felt more
like a pipe dream than an actual possibility, so we
continued to work odd jobs and hustle his way through life.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
I didn't like structure, like I didn't like going to
school because I didn't like feeling like I was going
to jail, like you know, line up here, do this that.
I didn't like taking order some people or direction for people.
I was, you know, I was a knuckle I think
I saw some beepers that was selling beepers on to
Fifth like a year and a half, two years, and
then I liked that. But it was you know, it
wasn't a career thing, you know, it was just something
to make money with that was cool. Like I met
like a lot of rappers there. I met Jim Jones.
(03:20):
We still get this to him. You know, he probably
doesn't remember. This is when Cameron first was blowing up,
so he would tag along, you know, not tagling, but
they I guess he was his hype man at the time.
I don't remember, but no one knew who Jim was
on outside of Harlem, so he would be with Cameron
Cam was blowing up, and he would always he had
his next wi I page it with us, with the
people that were with us, So he would always lose
it on to a that show or on the show,
(03:41):
come back like the following week. We don't come up
like you with dis kound like whatever, just keep it pushing.
And we met Cam. We met I met before when
he was blowing up one hundred and twenty Fifth Street
at the time was like a completely different world to
what I was because I lived on Want thirty eight time,
so Harlem was like that was like my first real
experience inside hall, Like I didn't grow up at home
(04:01):
because we didn't consider Hamilton and Wan thirty eight calm
at the time. We just called everything uptown and that
was like my first taste and experience of living in
Harlem and meeting new people and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Scar continued to search for an occupation, but nothing seemed
to stick for me.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Obviously, I would never be a cop. I would never
be in the military, so I was like, you know,
what else can I do? You know, I tried the
office life. It wasn't for me, so I was like, yo,
what could I do? That's different? And I had fun
when I worked as a buswiy that was you know,
That's when I was like, Okay, it's coool. I tried
some other things.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
When I got older, scar renentered the service industry and
instantly knew that he found his calling. He gradually made
his way from busboy to the kitchen and eventually became
a consultant, working with restaurants on their menus. This led
to him making dozens of connections in the New York
City food scene that would change his life professionally and personally.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
So I met Scar in two thousand and seven. One
of my really good friends was dating his really good friends.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
This is Megan piminto Scar's wife and business park.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
When he was consulting his last consulting job, the whole
like Pizza program took off. They were supposed to be
like a farm to table type restaurant, like Seasonal, and
then they had a pizza oven, and so they hired
Scar to provide them with recipes, teach the chef how
to make pizza, all of that, and then the pizza
(05:23):
was the only thing making press or getting press from
that restaurant, and so they kind of turned into a pizzeria.
I think that's when we realized, We're like, oh, you
should just do this on your own and like work
for yourself.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Scars broad dream of owning a restaurant suddenly developed a
singular focus pizza.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
I don't know what it's going to be pizza until
I've worked at a pizzeria. That's what I was like, this
is it because it's just the idea of a pizzeria.
It's like when I used to work one back in
you know, back then it was like he had everything,
every walk of life, every race. Everyone would just burger
wed the pizzeri had just made too much sense. That's
the mostly your aspect of a slight shop. So that's
so I was like, you know what this is, this
is what I want to do. So I just you know, learned,
(06:02):
got dood at it, and made a healthier version of it.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
There's no shortage of pizza in New York City, so
for Scar to have success within a crowded market, he
need to find a way to differentiate his slice. But
instead of going for gimmicks and outlandish topping combos, Scar
focused on the most important aspect, the quality of the
pie itself.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
The plan was always we're going to do something that's
healthy alternatives because people don't know a lot of people
still don't want to accept it. Understand. They're like the
pizza you eat even in your neighborhood spot. I'm not
trying to like downplay like neighborhood spot, but like they
don't use good stuff ever, and they're charging you two
three dollars for it. So I said, you know, and
if I could charge it a little more and make
it at least mostly organic, and if we can't get
our getting stuff, make it all natural, which none of
(06:41):
them are, like, at least it's a healthy option for people.
But it wasn't about like crazy topics like Garada cheese
and all this other craft. You know what I'm saying.
It's just straight up New York South pizza, like the
stuff we grew up eating, simple stuff and make it healthy.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Scar had his vision and his recipe, but he was
still missing one vital part, the capital to open a shop.
So we started seeking out potential investors.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
My family wouldn't they were like a pizza place. They
none of them wanted him put no money into it.
I was like, all right, cool whatever, I figured it out.
If it wasn't you know what I'm saying. They were
like nah, you know, and ain't no banks lending you money,
you know what I'm saying. So it's like, fuck it.
I figured out on my own. I was supposed to
be one of my best friends that I grew up with,
and he backed out like twice off me, and I
was like, bro, I'm like, you know, I've knowned since
(07:25):
I was like nine. I'm like, dude, we're gonna do
it for and he thought I was going after him
for money and I'm like, nah, but like and then
I don't know, he fell out of me, you know
twice and I was like it was kind of, you know, disupporting.
And then my investor buddy that I've known for a
long time, he just showed up in my crib and
he was like, look, here has fifty rackses do it.
I was like, do what. He was like, I want
you to open the shop. I know someone to do well.
(07:46):
And that was the first step. And that was it.
He came with a plastic bag with fifty rocks. He
was like, yeah's.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
I was there when our friend came over and gave
him the original money and it's every It's true. And
a friend came. He's like, here you go. He knew
it was a good idea. I knew it was a
good idea.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
With fifty thousand dollars cash in hand, Scar searched for
the perfect location for his shop.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
I remember one of his good friends, Mike Wench, who
owns Bowery Paul Room. He told Scar, as long as
you have the space, that's when people will take you seriously.
And it was one hundred percent trough. The second he
used to had a lease going, that's when people started
being taking him more seriously.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
So Downtown's always been a big part of my life
growing up. So like before my cousins got locked up,
they used to come down to downtown. They used to
do the hustle downtown, and they used to always come
back looking fresh. They used to call it downtown. They
used to either call it Downtown or the Ville when
they used to come out here, and I used to
go get phazed at Astrolayer. That's the place. Then I
started going to my dudes on Hamilton, but I used
(08:54):
to always be downtown. They used to drive me the
Canal Jeans, the original location, which is where it blooming
does this now on Broadway. I just fell in love
with downtown. I worked in Blados. I always knew it
was going to be Downtown. It was the universe, like
the universe, and in terms of fashion, music or everything,
it's the capital of that downtown Manhattan, not Brooklyn, not
anywhere else. You know, nothing against no other neighborhoods. I
(09:14):
always had a connection to downtown, so it always made
sense for me to open up on it.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
With Downtown on his mind, Scar found the perfect space
at twenty two Orchard Street in the Lower East Side,
with a simple but classic sign on the outside and
an interior complete with wood panels, movie posters, and other
nostalgic touches. Scar's Pizza officially opened in twenty sixteen, but
now came time to face the music and to see
if his idea for a throwback pizza Rhea could actually
(09:45):
survive in the competitive New York City food landscape.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
When we first opened, it was me Lows, Megan, and
and like one or two my one of my vessels
picked city wanted to work. He only lasted like a
month tops. He was like in the same I can't
work this. And then we had a hire employees after
the first month. But we were there like one hundred
hours a week and stuff like that, so crazy hours
(10:08):
all of us. And my wife worked a job and
then she would come at night to help pitch you.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
I was running social media at this luxury accessories company.
That was what helped us survive the first couple of years.
Just some mega corporation that had really cheat benefits, you know,
paid well. I made good money, so I just had
to do that in order to survive. In the beginning.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Within the first six months, I was like, yeah, me.
I was like, I'll figure something else out. But you know,
we did it. We got audited the first six months.
I was like, its great, someone like routed us out
to I know who rounded us out to, Like because
I didn't know this, you could actually follow a complaint
to the apartment attacks or whatever in the state like
New Young Department IRSH for the New York State and stuff,
(10:55):
and they called us and said that we you know whatever,
and they started they audited me. I was like, wow, account.
I was like, I've never seen anyone get audited their
first year, you know, like wild stuff like that. You know,
surveillance squads used to drive by the shop, stuff like that.
So like it is all good whatever. There's a part
of things that other people don't go don't have to
deal with that I had to deal with when we
first open, Like we we overcame a lot more so
(11:17):
than more people would.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
This like the first business that I've ever built from
the ground up, So you really don't know what to expect.
I don't think I had any expectations at all. I
was obviously really happy in the first few months. It
was super exciting. So even though you're like working nine
to five, I was working up the office was in Kytown,
come home, shower, and then work the back area to
(11:42):
help break down all of that. You know, if they
needed a body just to like be the cashier for
the day, I was that person. After a while, I
did get tired. Not gonna lie, but I think it's
just so new and exciting that you don't know any
of the issues. It's just kind of like it is
(12:03):
what it is, And I think that's being so naive
about the whole process also kind of its own blessing
because you don't I guess you don't get really hung
up on certain things because we didn't have like a
safety net to fall back on. We put every penning
we had into this, so you just have to do it.
If there's no fallback plan, what do you do. You
(12:25):
just keep moving forward and you just push throws. That
was like the first couple of years too, until we
started growing and getting proper staff.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
The Scars team fought on and soon the shop started
to solidify itself as a neighborhood spot. As it grew,
it also caught the attention of locals and celebrities.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Alike my boy AUTI.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
I mean, this had to be like weeks into them opening.
He was like, Yo, you got to come check out
my man's pizza shop.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
This is hip hop legend and God's favorite DJ Clark Kent.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
And I was like, okay, cool.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
And I was down there doing an event and I
went by and I met him, but before I really
even gave him the attention, it was I got to
taste the pizza because I might never come back here again.
So when I tasted the pizza, I was like, oh shit,
now you got something. And then it struck me that
this guy is he's not Italian, Like wait a minute,
(13:27):
he wait?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
They look like me. He looks like me.
Speaker 5 (13:30):
I'm like, wait a minute, this ain't.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Right for people who look like me to have a
pizza shop that tastes better than everyone else's pizza. And
we talked and and we automatically became cool because our
ideals as people were the same, you know, and as
as kids.
Speaker 5 (13:48):
Who came from the street. And you know, I looked him,
I looked at him with a with a.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Respect that I would give the kids that I came
up with, the guys that I came up with. He
was like a generation and under the guys I came
up with, and his heroes were us. But I made
sure that between him and I, it wouldn't be a
hero situation. It would be a no, we're going to
be friends, And we became friends quickly.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
The buzz around Scars kept growing within the neighborhood, and
with the community behind them, Scars became the place to be.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
A big part of the success is our friends and
the community that support, like our neighbors that support us
and have like from day one, and they still continue
to do so, so that'll always drive a restaurant, and
like their success is just having the support of other people,
especially your neighborhood. We didn't really get much press in
(14:41):
the beginning, honestly, and we weren't even that busy. We
get like local stuff, just like, oh this pizzeria opened,
you know, no big deal, like in terms of what
they were writing about. Maybe do like a photo shoot
here or there at the shop because they liked how
it looked. And then it just kind of picked up
steam after a while.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Seen we did some vice Thinglosa didn't want to do it,
and I was just like, fuck, let's let's do it cool.
Let's do one when no one's ever seen anyone doing drugs,
because you know, they expect you to do those those
foodie things and like smoke weed, get white. You know
what I'm saying, Like do some corny stuff. I told it,
my mom is gonna watch. I want to Even if
I did all that, I wouldn't want to put it
on camera. So we did the device thing I think first,
(15:21):
and that was whatever the chef's night out stuff. The
second thing that happened was the bon appting.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
In Jude of twenty eighteen, bon Appetite published an article
What's the best New York Slice? I ated thirty pizza
joyts to find out? In the future, writer Alex Delaney
dubbed scars the best slice in NYC. Putting a white
hot spotlight on twenty two orchards.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
The thing comes out. I was like, what's going you know,
I didn't know what was going on. And then like
we had lined out the door the next two days
and I was like this is crazy. I was like, bro,
you guys have to get my zempies do stuff like this,
you know what I'm saying, Like, I wasn't prepared for
this stuff because I didn't know, you know, I didn't
know they were doing stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
The new attention quickly changed the dynamic of the business.
It's one thing to be a neighborhood pizza shop serving
up for locals and random passers by. It's another thing
to operate as a hotspot and the always buzzing New
York City foodie scene.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Well. Fortunately I used to work in some of the
busiest spots in the city, so I knew how to
handle bungs. I mean, we just didn't the best we could.
Like I couldn't get mad at those like put my
head down and they would have cooked and did what
I could. You know, we ran out of pizza was
two that week.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
I don't love seeing the line. It actually makes me
super anxious because I don't want people like having to
wait really like long time for their food. It happens.
It's just there's only so much pizza the like our
team can produce, and like within a certain amount of time.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
We're running out of pizza, like at five six. So,
I mean it was tough. You know. The worst thing
is just saying no to be like you don't have
any food. I'm like people man, and I came on
to you. I'm like, girl, I'm like, I have no mine.
It's not about fat, It's not not gonna do. So
what do you want me to do? Like we literally
got no food. I'll ins fot out of the boy
slice around the corner because I'm like, I don't know,
I don't know how to I'm sorry, like I apologized,
(17:05):
like I don't know what to do.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
The shop withstood the initial surge from their coronation as
the best pizza in New York City, but as time
went on, the hype didn't die down. Everyone who tasted
the pizza or stepped foot inside the shop instantly became
a repeat customer. Going to the shop felt like going home,
and the people were hooked.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
We always said, it's like, you know, we're for everybody.
The shop's for everybody. It's an extension of our living room,
So come on if you want to hang out.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
I actually thought it was perfect because it automatically brought
me back to when I was a kid and we
had this. We had a place called Tony's Pizza rea
up the block for me, and it looked like that.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
It was wall paneling and a few seats in the
back and it looked like a.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Real hood Brooklyn pizza shop and I loved it.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
As the Scars brand grew, Irl Megan, armed with their
background in marketing, started to put more we're focused into
their online presence. But just as they did with their
physical store, Scar's social presence would be unlike any other
pizza account out there.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
When we first opened, I would just make sure that
everything was set up it looked good, like literally posting
to Instagram whenever we needed to to, like, you know,
talk about our updated hours, whatever we're closed this day.
So it was whatever they needed. But then as we
started growing, it was more focusing on the brand.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
She's good at marketing, that's her forte, so social media
and all that stuff. Like I'd be like, oh, let
me post this, and She's like, nah, no't do that.
That's not a good look. I was like, Okay, Then
it turns out it was right. We keep it to
a minimum on purpose, like we don't post food pics
on our Instagram because it's like every place does that.
She tells me, shut up. She's like, hey, if you
open up your ig feed right or you're whatever. The
(18:49):
first thing that pops out of food people pulling pizza
apart of burrogetarian burgers in half or takes it. Why
don't you get tired of it? I was like, yeah,
it's fucking annoying. Yeah. We were like, you know what,
I'm not doing it. That's how we don't have any
real posts and we don't never post anything on our Instagram.
You know.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
I see a lot of places they focus so much
on Instagram or link just social media in general, and
then they end up becoming this company that like relies
on Instagrams, like you have to post every day and
you have to do this type of post and reels.
And I was just like, well, yeah, obviously you want to.
You want us to post every day because it makes
(19:27):
you look better as an app. But I was like,
what am I getting out of it in return? You know,
if people don't want to see that kind of stuff,
so what's the big Like why why do it? Then
you just have to follow these arbitrary trends that the
corporations them theselves set up. So now it's like everyone's
like video, do video? Everyone wants video. It's like the
(19:49):
apps are telling you this, but you don't necessarily need
so if you build this whole program or if your
success is dependent on like social media that I for me,
I was just like, that's never what I wanted Scars
to be. And it never started off like that, like
you said, it started off as restaurant, sort of as
a pizzeri. Yeah, and then the Instagram is just the
(20:11):
easiest way for us to communicate stuff to people.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Like if we actually did start posting photos of pizza
and burgers and sandwiches and stuff like that every day
where we have more followers. Yeah, but it's like, like
she says, it's like, it's not about the amount of
followers you have, it's about the point. It's the quality
of the follower you have. You could be there's gonna
be another pizzeria that's two hundred thousand fowers and we
have fifty. She really explains to me that makes sense.
(20:36):
He's like, your value is the polity. Like if you
go through your people you follow who follow you, you
have people that are creating directors at the top fashion brands.
You have people that these people don't have that the
other places they might have changed that, but it's all
a bunch of FOODI people following other FOODI people or
fake accounts following you, you know what I'm saying. So
it's like you have actual, real quality followers, Like you
have powerful people in the world following you. You have
(20:57):
people powerful people in the Middle East. You have part
like these are people I known for us. You know,
you have powerful people in fashion couches like this is.
You know, we have powerful people that don't sneaker like
they all follow you. Like you know, it's like even
though you don't post nothing, they still follow, you know,
and that shows more than what that person that other brand,
or that other pizzeria or that on the restaurant or
whatever has two hundred thousand dollars, you know.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
If you're trying to chase the trend and then you're
just competing with very similar product and then you're just
noise in the background. Like a Scar always says this too.
He's like, if we post photos of pizza every day
and the next pizzeria next door to us is doing
the same thing, what makes you different, Like besides your font,
(21:42):
you know, it's like your style of photography or video whatever.
I think a lot of businesses also try to like
emulate and copy what other successful businesses are doing, which
which can work. It's not to say you don't ever
do that. You can always like pick up stuff, but
I think you have an app saying like, oh, like
they use this one brand as an example of like
(22:04):
look how amazing they are, and then everyone just copies it,
and then you all look the same, and then everyone
gets tired of it, and then it's just onto the
next trend, and so you're just constantly chasing something that
isn't even you. So that's why I was like, you know,
for us, Instagram was always just it's where most of
like the people that we know are on, but I
(22:25):
don't use it because it's like what it doesn't for us,
it doesn't matter, you know. It's like we're a restaurant.
We have a location and that's where all the action's at.
It's not online. For us.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
We became people with each other and it became I
care about your family, and he cares about my family,
and I care about you know, his business, and I
care about his friends, and I care about his I
literally care about his family. Like his wife Megan is
a friend. You know what I'm saying, Like, we're all friends.
It's not just because you own Scots. It's because you
(22:58):
are scot and because of that, we would end up
talking about shit that mattered to us.
Speaker 4 (23:04):
You really have to just have like it's a human
or human interaction. That's what it all comes down to.
And I tell I tell the staff too. All the time.
I was like, treat everyone like it's Scar's mom walking in.
They don't always they don't always act like that. Sometimes
some people really rub them the wrong way. But for me,
especially when you operate a restaurant, it's like, you want
(23:25):
people to enjoy themselves. They're coming to you, they're spending
their hard earned money on something that you made. You
don't It's like, you don't need to be mean to them.
You don't need to be any type of way except
just nice and polite.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
With a popping brand and physical location, but an indifference
towards social media, Scars still wanted to grow the brand
in other ways, so we started to explore the world
of collaborations and find other brands to partner with. Little
did he know that would lead to a six figure
pair of sneakers.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Let's do that. We used to work with another brand.
Sneaker approached us. It was like, oh, whatever about doing
a collab or some sort. So I was like, I
didn't know if I wanted to do stuff like that
at the time, so I told him politely. I was like, hey, listen,
let me think about it right now. I don't want
to really really want to do it right now. I
guess they took the drawnway fast forward a few months
and I was like, you know what, I feel like
(24:16):
I hit the person. I was like, yo, you know what,
I think we should Let's do a collab like whatever,
let's just do it. And I think they kind of like,
how do you say this? Kind of like geek me out?
It was like they were like nah, they kind of
said and put like like, oh yeah, we could send
some shoes and stuff like, you know, trying to like,
you know, not want to do with me. I was
like cool, whatever. So so I was like what else,
(24:38):
you know, what the fuck it? I ain't do it
doing it with fuck the money. Then I hit up
Clock and I was I was like kind of mad.
I hit up Clock. I was like, yo, Clock, let's
do this, slick man, Let's figure out how to do this,
like we gotta do it in the streets. We got.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
Like we all love air Force one.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
It was yo, we don't, but we did at Scars
Air Force one, and I was just like, let me
make a call to call and designed it and it happened.
And I think what made it simple for it to
happen is because of the story that I told Nike
about how it's disenfranchised kids who opened up pizza shop
(25:14):
and now it's going crazy. It's really it was rated
the best pizza in New York for like two or
three years straight.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
And we made this shoe to commemorate the story of
these this.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Ghetto kid who doesn't look like a pizza shop owner,
but it's.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
A story to us.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
And we played off of what really matters to us
we in New York, guys, and New York is what.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
The Sky's Pizza looks like.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
If you look at the logo, it's the logo is
orange and royal blue like next and Mets.
Speaker 5 (25:45):
You know what I'm saying, it's New York shit.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
And so I made the shoe, you know, responsive to
our love for New York City.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
I put a New York City flag on the back
of the shoot. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
But I did what I thought would be right for
presenting this story.
Speaker 5 (26:01):
In this friendship. It was really about him and I as friendship.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
I was so proud of him because I don't know
any other small, up and coming pizzerias that had that
kind of opportunity. It was just really great to see
him so excited. I just was just so proud of him.
It's like, look at what you built, look at what
you made. You know, Scar had this boss a long
(26:27):
time ago. It's like when we were dating, who literally
told him, you're never going to have your own business.
You're too stupid to have your own business. Not that
we took him seriously at all, but it's just he
had a lot of people like that in his life
that he worked with that he knew that try to
always discourage him, and I don't know, look at what
(26:51):
he made, you know, you can't help but be proud.
I'm even even when I meet people for the first
time and they tell me they've been to the shop,
that makes me so happy. I'm so proud. I'm like
honored that they even went there. So for the Nikes.
I don't know it was I didn't realize it would
turn into something this big again. It's like, you this
(27:12):
is like first time handling something like this, you know,
or like working with Nike for friends and family shoe.
You don't really know what to expect or have any
expectations whatsoever. So for it to still have kind of
some momentum, it's cool to see.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Momentum is an understatement. The Scars x Nike air Force one,
limited to around forty pairs and gifted to close friends
and family, quickly became one of the most sought after
sneakers on the planet. Lebron James was seen wearing a pair,
and one pair even made its way to Southerby's auction house,
ending with a staggering sale price of one hundred and
twenty thousand dollars. However, the global recognition of the brand
(27:55):
was starting to make the Orchard location feel a little
too small.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I knew we needed worthpace. I was actually a go.
She didn't take the space next to us. We definitely
Even this is like three years ago, people are like, oh,
the place is small. I'm like, yeah, we're working on
it takes time. COVID happened, you know, shit happens whatever.
Then the landlord of the space for the new space
came to mean. It was like, hey, this space is available.
We want. I guess he was sitting empty for a
few months and I didn't know, so I went across
(28:18):
the street I saw it. I was like, oh wow,
it's a huge space. This would be perfect. So that
was it. We signed the lease and that was it.
The new space is a different design, but the good energy.
We're doing more of a sit down. We're gonna start
taking reservations for like, We're gonna do it more like
a pizza parlor. Stuff in the back, put the seating
in the back of the bar, and everything is in.
(28:39):
So we're gonna do like cow zones, not six, like
you know, the simple things like small things. Maybe won't
add another stylet. I just I'm not going to overcomplicate
it because people are just going to the shelf and
eat pizza anyway. Just a space where people could come
groups of five, six, seven, eight, four, whatever, sit comfortable,
order your pizza, have a good time. Keep it simple,
like done.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Even with a larger space opening across the street, the
Scars team is still keeping the original location but giving
it a new take.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
We're doing Omakase spot inside the original Stars. We decided
to keep those spots and we're doing it under one
of Knakazawa's proteges. We're keeping the same design. We're just
changing the seats to more comfortable seats were bags, and
we're keeping everything else the booths, and then we're changing
the movie posters to Japanese versions of the movie posters.
That's it. Everything's going to be the same for the
(29:28):
most part. It had a tasting, a couple of tastings.
It was really good, so I'm happy. I'm happy with them.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
You know, like in Tokyo, you have to have walked
through a hallway and there's like different restaurants in one
little area. That was kind of like the idea. So
in the back it's going to turn into amacasse, and
then the front we're going to just focus because we
have so many people that want vegans, We're going to
focus on just like basically like a vegan sligh shop.
(29:55):
So the new location, it'll be the same set up,
just way bigger. So you have your slight shop in
the front bar and seating in the back with like
the regular menu, and then at the original spot that
will focus on vegan.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Vegan. I'm a simple dude, so it's like I want
to keep everything as simple as possible. And if like
I love going to Japan, like I love how fish
in Japan is, and then and that's the same way,
like I like how everything is super efficient, even everything
from I ad mind that, everything from design to food,
everything superfficient and simple and easy. I've always been that
with I don't like to waste some time and stuff.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
With the restaurant having more success than Scars ever could
have dreamed of, a new goal has emerged to be
a beacon of hope for young kids like him and
to be an example of what they can achieve.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Well, because of where it is, it should be a
beacon of hope for those who come from the Lower
East Side, and then it also should be the same
beacon or kids who come from anywhere in New Year
or who don't look like what a pizza shop owner
would look like. And it should be able to it
should be able to give people the impression that you
(31:09):
can really do anything if you really believe it, and
you study it and you and you want to make
it right, and then you get to do it, and then.
Speaker 5 (31:17):
When you do it, you do it properly, and then
people can resonate.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
It resonates with people in a way that makes it
a destination and.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
A place to go.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
It should be a beacon of hope for those who
don't believe that things can happen like that, for people
like us.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
I will say very proud of Scar for believing in
himself and doing this, because he really did put this
together on his own, and every wood panel and everything,
every design, every recipe, it's all Scar.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
In the end, we just do it for people that
come after us. You know what I'm saying. We want
them to do better than using. You know, like Clark says,
like I want you guys to do better than me,
And then they get people to come after us, we
want them to do better than all of them. And
that's the goal. That's always been the goal. Try to
help each out out like that.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Scars story is one of persistence, authenticity, and community. When
Scar couldn't figure out his career path, he kept at
it and eventually found his way into restaurants and when
the team went to open Scars Pizza, the goal was
to make a space that was true to their vision
and didn't try to be anyone else. And once the
business was up and running, it was the community that
helped them thrive and turned scars pizza into a New
(32:29):
York City institution no matter how you slice it. If
(32:49):
you've enjoyed this episode, please don't hesitate to like, comment DM,
or tell a friend to tell a friend about Idea
Generation and the All Angles Podcast. We can't do any
this without your help, and honestly, your support means everything.
We do this for you, and we can't do it
without you. This episode was brought to you by Will Packer.
(33:10):
Executive produced by John Valachik and Helena Ox. Original music
by Valentine Fritz, edit and sound mixed by Nonsensible Production,
and hosted by me Idea Generation founder Noah Callahan bever
Idea Generations. All Angles is a Will Packer media podcast
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