Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 24, 1993 TAG: 9302240032
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ed Shamy
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A TAVERN DIMS OVER HUE, CRY
Whether or not it was fair, Johnny's Tavern on Williamson Road in Roanoke had a reputation as being a good place to drink beer if you were looking for a rumble.Johnny's eventually closed, as did its short-lived successor in the building on the skirt of Crossroads Mall.
Randy Scaggs, who'd knocked around at a few Roanoke-area restaurants, patched together some loans and some savings and bought Johnny's Tavern.
It would be a major challenge. To remake the joint into a safe place for non-bikers to eat, drink and hear some live music would be a major project.
Scaggs named it Scooch's.
He made his older brother, Ron, a partner.
They put a sign on the door that barred motorcycles from the parking lot and leather-wearers from the bar.
They ripped the gray siding from the building's facade and bought paint.
The brothers Scaggs bought the most obnoxious eye-catching paint they could buy.
With the help of a friend with a forklift and a pressure sprayer, the whole building was painted in 90 minutes. Day-Glo succotash fairly describes the hue.
Scooch's looks now like it was colored with a highlighter pen.
"We were looking at the color and I said, `It looks pretty offensive,'" said Scaggs. "I found some bright blue paint for the trim that would help it look even worse."
Scooch's opened a year ago with a license to serve beer and an image to overcome.
The painting spree was not over.
Ron Scaggs, an artist by passion, designed a mural for the building's exterior. He worked on it all last summer and into fall.
"It had this giant macaw, and musical notes, and . . . " recalled Randy.
It also featured flames erupting from a purple electric guitar, all against the Day-Glo succotash backdrop.
This was startling art.
Alas, two facts of life intersected: First, autumn arrived and it got too cold to paint. Second, The brothers needed more money.
Beer, they learned, is fun, but "we found it necessary to get liquor, just for the margin of profit," said Randy.
They applied to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Department for a liquor license.
The application didn't go far.
Even with the popular attractions of karaoke and Velcro wall-jumping, and with no motorcycles parked outside, Scooch's request to sell real booze floundered.
Randy pulled up outside one day and looked at the outside of the building. The flame-throwing guitar stared back.
As a businessman who's been hypersensitive to image for the past year, Randy Scaggs knew what song the guitar was singing.
"Some people do not identify with a bright yellow building with a purple guitar," he admitted.
"No one ever bluntly said to take it off, but . . ." one Saturday afternoon last month, the Scaggses bought some more Day-Glo succotash paint and they broad-brushed the wall art.
Within a week, Scooch's had its liquor license and business improved.
When the weather warms up, Ron Scaggs may start over on a new mural outside.