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Meet Scott McIntire of The Lola in Glendale

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott McIntire.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Scott. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My journey started as a native of Mesa Arizona, an east valley boy! At the age of 11, I moved to Kansas where my father passed away the following year. My mom raised myself and my two brothers as we all ventured on to our own careers. A Valedictorian in High School and graduated top of my class, I continued on to the University of Kansas on a Medical Scholarship. After about a year of school, I began throwing parties and DJing all the house parties and local clubs. Immediately after I decided to change my major to Business and wanted to pursue a career in Music. As I grew my following and began promoting multiple clubs, I began touring and managing local musicians. One of these local groups had a produce by the name of J.White. Him and I began to build an empire on campus while I was managing his group Freelanze and I managed other local artists/DJs. After several years of touring, managing musicians and running nightclubs, I took my business degree from Kansas and literally packed my bags up and moved by to Arizona.

– Cool side note – J.White, moved out of Kansas and ultimately went on to become a Grammy-winning producer for Cardi B, with the hit tracks “Bodak Yellow” , “I like it”, “money” and many more hits. Him and I still speak often and share stories of our days hustling back in Kansas. He has had soo much success and so proud to see him accomplish what he has.

My story continued in Arizona in 2009. After doing the promoter and Nightclub scene in Scottsdale, I got a gig at Mcfadden’s Glendale and Calico Jacks Cantina in Glendale, Arizona. While DJing here after about a year, my best friend, Melissa Olgin and I began dating. She was a server at the time at Calico Jacks. I moved back to Phx to be closer to LA where at the time, I was managing a Hollywood celebrity who began to pursue a music career. Soon after, I was offered the AGM job at Calico Jacks. Because the managing of talent was stagnant, I took the job to help with steady income. Quickly I became the GM of Calico Jacks, then moved over to Mcfadden’s Glendale as the GM, then after another year became regional supervisor over both locations. In 2018 the current owner sold her shares for both locations and I had the opportunity to become managing partner of Mcfaddens Glendale. Part of the deal also included myself and my wife buying Calico Jacks and closing it down to open as our own brand new original concept, which we named The Lola. The Lola opened October of last year.

– The lola – (Living out Lifes Adventures) was a concept my wife and I created together. We love to travel and we took bits and pieces of our travels from all around the world including California, Dubai, Maldives, Bora Bora, Florida, and Mexico. We also caught ourselves always driving downtown or to Arcadia or Scottsdale for date night or dinners. We wanted to bring something the West Valley that provided a unique and beautiful dining experience without the prices of those other places, or without having to travel so far. The Lola was built and catered around this idea. It is very Instagrammable and our Brunch has become a huge hit!! Can’t believe our one year anniversary is in 3 weeks!

– As I mentioned earlier, I met my wife Melissa at Calico Jacks. She and I dated shortly after working together and then we married in 2015. Our story is pretty unique because we literally bought the place where we met and had the amazing opportunity to create our own concept in the place where we met. On top of owning and running multiple locations, we also have 3.5-year-old identical Twin Boys!!! There is never a dull moment in our life! Two stores, two identical twin boys, two much of an amazing story, lol. We still love to travel often and are looking to expand our empire with a 3rd store soon as we continue to Live out Lifes Adventures together!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not smooth…. Like any business, there are a ton of struggles. First and foremost is the Capital and financial means. 2nd if anyone has never been through a major remodel and construction, it is not fun. Ten hour days on-site for four months. New issues arise and nothing ever goes as planned. Our Grand opening was delayed and then we were hit with flooding first two weekends. Being an original concept, The Lola took a little while to take off. We have always wanted to maintain the quality and were very patient from the beginning and our patience has paid off! Business can always be up and down especially for the first 4-6 months. In the midst of all the hours working, it can really test your marriage as well. Also this was officially the first time Melissa and I were equal partners in a business and that alone is tough. When I’m used to working one way, and now there are other moving pieces. We have grown and learned so much from each other, our marriage is actually stronger now than ever! It’s tough as couples to work together but if couples can figure it out, it can be an amazing journey.

Please tell us about The Lola.
The Lola: cocktail lab and eatery is a full-service restaurant inside Westgate Entertainment District. We are full service restaurant that offers craft cocktails, made from scratch kitchen and beautiful building and patio. We are known for our amazing weekend Brunch and specialize in unique instagrammable cocktails. We are also known for our large parties, corporate events and catering.

Most proud of the success we have had with brunch and our online portfolio. We have maintained four-plus stars on Google, Yelp, Open table etc and have really given the west valley something different to experience. I think first and foremost our decor, ambiance and amazing food set us apart from everyone else. We really have a beautiful unique and modern dining experience.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Playing Baseball with my Dad and watching 49ers football.

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