There is a lot to love about the owl.
Just ask Cecily Maniaci, an eight-year Flagstaff resident who has enjoyed a flurry of activity opening popular business ventures since arriving in town.
“Ahhh, owls I love because they are symbols in literature, they are elegant raptors that protect their young and are very family oriented,” Maniaci explained. “Honestly, everyone has an owl story. They are majestic birds and are wise, they say!”
The passionate entrepreneur has opened a number of commercial venues in a short period of time in Flagstaff, beginning in 2013 with her original owl-inspired Toasted Owl Café in the SunWest Bank Building downtown across from the Coconino County Courthouse.
“We had five tables, barely a kitchen and a lot of determination,” she said. “Within a year, we were growing out of that spot, and we then found and built a new Toasted Owl location on South Mikes Pike.”
Breakfast and lunch are her favorite meals, so she decided to blend them together with her beloved owl theme – thus, the Toasted Owl.
Another owlish enterprise is the Hoot Mart convenience store that opened in 2015 on the corner of San Francisco and Birch, also across from the courthouse.
“The Hoot Mart is really a small, wonderful store where I get to meet a lot of the locals,” Maniaci said. “At the Hoot Mart, we try to keep it stocked with new products and a variety of IPAs and wine. We also carry burritos, salads and sandwiches from the Toasted Owl.”
In March 2017, she added a second Toasted Owl to the owl family, located on the east side of town near Interstate 40 off Country Club Drive.
“I will not lie; it is a lot of work to keep all of this going, and as it grows every day, it amazes me, and I try to keep up,” she said. “I do have two Toasted Owls, but both locations are so unique that I feel everyone should visit both. We have great patios for dogs, and we even have had a pot bellied pig and birds.”
The décor at her establishments is wonderfully mismatched.
Her owl locations have always been chock full of owl knickknacks, vintage furniture and other collectibles such as unique light fixtures, tea and coffee cups, plates and salt-and-pepper shakers.
This is vintage resale. Items in both restaurants carry a price tag and are for sale.
Loyal patrons donate some of the items, but Maniaci, a devoted vintage junkie, regularly scours secondhand stores for goodies.
“What makes me happy in my business is decorating and making the inside a place that is warm and inviting,” she noted. “So many things are new and shiny now, but my joy comes from combining the past with the present.”
Maniaci invests many hours in developing her eclectic menus. “I spend a lot of time researching product and recipes. I like to offer interesting taste profiles and mix up something that surprises the customers.”
Favorites range from “Owl Scrambles,” to “Omelettes With Love,” and “The Owl Flies South,” featuring breakfast tacos and vegetarian green chili tamales and the Snowbowl fiesta plate.
Maniaci came by her strong work ethic early in life. Her mother started several businesses in the Grand Canyon area in the1970s.
“I spent every summer, a lot of weekends and all holidays in the canyon as a child,” Maniaci, 52, recalled. “My mother started The Grand Canyon Tourist Center, where my sisters and I learned at a very young age to hand out maps, answer many questions, book flights and stock and price lots of canyon gifts. It was what we knew.”
Her family also opened the first steakhouse in the town of Tusayan, and she and all three of her sisters took turns working in the family business, learning about food and beverages.
Today, Maniaci has two children: Alex, who lives in Phoenix and is a product designer; and Sophie, who is in graduate school in New York and works in rare books at the JP Morgan-Chase Library.
“Both my children have worked in my business. They currently do all my media and help design t-shirts and give me a lot of honest feedback.”
Maniaci, who has a master’s degree in education and taught English in Phoenix, was raised in both the Grand Canyon and the Valley of the Sun.
“I spent many miles traveling in the car back and forth,” she remembered. “We traveled with our dogs, cats and hamsters up and down I-17; it was pretty funny when I look back at it. My mother was determined to give us the best of both lives up north and down in the Valley.”
Time up north included being in Flagstaff.
“I have been in and around Flagstaff all my life,” she said. “I moved to Flagstaff to be closer to my family business at the Grand Canyon. While living here, a friend suggested I start a business in Flagstaff.”
Her newest venture, Grand Canyon Spirits corner store, which opened in November 2017, was a family business in Tusayan that she transplanted to Flagstaff and installed in the old Circle K on the corner of North Humphreys Street and Fort Valley Road.
“It has been a blast. The local customers have been great and encouraging every time I change up the store, which has been a lot!”
Redoing the old building included the addition of an outside mural that depicts a Grand Canyon view.
“We have a huge, beautiful mural of the Watch Tower on the East Rim of the Canyon,” Maniaci noted. “It’s my favorite point! Many people a day stop and take photos; it’s really neat. The Mural Mice added a dog and an owl to give it a personal touch. It is a wonderful addition to an already retro building.”
The Toasted Owl locations have a total of 41 employees. “I do not have business partners, but I am fortunate to have an incredible support network between family, friends and staff.”
Maniaci definitely gives a hoot about giving back to the community.
“Do I have a business motto? Have a good sense of humor and be generous in your community and with your employees. My journey has been wonderful. I learn something new each day from my staff or customers.”
In the future, Maniaci says she would like to expand her range and take her Owls south. “I would like to open a Toasted Owl in Phoenix, but I am not ready yet. I hope to have a long and prosperous life in Flagstaff. I really am lucky to have four businesses in this town. Every time I walk in my Owls, I still cannot believe my idea worked and how much fun it is to be a part of something so wonderful!” FBN
By Betsey Bruner, FBN