MORGANTOWN – A new bar and restaurant is coming to the 344 High St. location formerly known as The Bank.
During its most recent regular meeting, the Morgantown Board of Zoning Appeals approved a transfer of ownership for The Bank to Yellow Banana.
BZA consideration is necessary in order to move the “restaurant, private club” designation to the new owner, allowing the sale of liquor.
Allen Zhang said he hopes to have the new establishment open in the beginning of August, but there’s significant work needed to the establishment’s interior.
Zhang is working with Zachary Traugh, who owns Backyard BBQ on Cheat Road as well as downtown businesses including Cantina Fuego, Happy’s Pub & Stuff, Club Ivy and Big Times.
“He asked me to help him organize this so that it wouldn’t fail like the one that’s there now,” Traugh said. “I’m going to work with him and let him use my staff, my chefs and my cooks. I have 200 employees in Morgantown. So I want to bring my resources to bear to make sure he’s successful.”
Traugh said ensuring the business will be able to serve liquor was the first order of business.
“The business would fail as a food-only establishment, or beer only. Everyone in the restaurant business knows that the reason you serve food is so you can sell booze. That’s where the money sits. The food costs a fortune. Right now, food costs so much, it’s astronomical. The remodel of the interior of that building is going to cost well into the six figures to get done. So without a liquor license, there’s no reason to even do the paperwork about it. That’s why it’s so important to make sure we obtain a liquor license for it. Or else it just will never pay for itself.”
For example, Traugh continued, a business might make a $2 profit on a $14 cheeseburger, but more than $7 on an $8 cocktail.
“That’s where you make your money. People buy two drinks and one hamburger, and you can see why you need to sell drinks in order to be profitable. Same with soda. A soda costs McDonald’s nine cents. They charge $2.50 for it. The money is in the soda, not in the burger.”
According to the information in the BZA packet, the business will open at 11:30 a.m. each day and close at 1 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The menu provided by Zhang includes appetizers, pizzas, pressed sandwiches and salads.
