Full Moon Cafe Memorial & MacArthur
By Trisha Evans
Business Writer
Chef Holly Geller has cooked all over the world, but until recently she had never cooked in a bank.
In February, the Red Moon Cafe & Bakery, 13425 N MacArthur Blvd. in Oklahoma City, opened inside Legacy Bank. So far, the venture has been a success for everyone involved and a surprise for the customers.
"If they haven't been here before, they're very surprised. They ask, Why is there a restaurant in the bank? How did they do that?' Geller said with a laugh.
However, the customers keep coming back, and the restaurant is becoming a regular stop for families and adults who live and work nearby. And that's exactly what the Deep Fork Group, the company that owns the restaurant, was banking on.
The group owns seven full-service restaurants, so a cafe-style restaurant meant breaking the set. However, co-owner Dave Attalla said he was confident of the bank's location from the beginning. Since the area around W Memorial Road is developing rapidly, it was an ideal place for a restaurant.
"We thought it was an interesting idea for sure, and we're pretty happy with the results to this point, he said. "The bank obviously gives us exposure from their customers, and I think it works both ways.
For Legacy Bank, the partnership was a natural one, marketing director Dave Fuller said.
"We wanted someone with a good reputation, and someone like us who doesn't do cookie-cutter stuff someone who thinks outside the box, Fuller said.
Red Moon doesn't pay a fixed monthly amount. Legacy gets a percentage of the cafe's gross, so the restaurant has a chance to build business, and the bank shares in its success, Fuller said.
"It definitely is a mutual benefit for all of us, Fuller said.
The cafe was a way for Legacy to differentiate itself from other banks and go beyond excellent customer service to create a unique customer experience, he said. The idea sprung from seeing a similar cafe in a Portland bank.
"I think a lot of banks are adding coffee bars, but I don't know of too many that have restaurants, Fuller said.
About five years ago, Legacy put a Quizno's Sub in the bank in Weatherford. It was a hit. Legacy wanted its next restaurant to be more sophisticated, so the bank approached the Deep Fork Group, and Geller was Deep Fork's pick as chef and general manager.
"She has a passion in making food and that's what we've built our whole company around passion for food and service, Attalla said.
Geller said the original concept evolved from a sandwich shop to a more upscale cafe.
"They pretty much gave me carte blanche, she said. "When I got the opportunity to go ahead and put something together and make a menu, everywhere that I've lived in the United States and Europe just kind of came together.
The menu is broad. Customers can eat whole-wheat banana nut pancakes for breakfast and a New York strip steak for dinner.
A different quiche, omelet and soup have been served every day since the cafe opened.
Geller said it gives the cooks a way to be creative and show off their talents, and it keeps customers surprised. Specialty entrιes, not on the menu, are offered daily in the evening.
"I believe in fresh ingredients, Geller said. "I don't believe in canned or boxed or frozen. We have trucks come in every other day our food is fresh.
The cafe is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and seats 80 people inside and 40 on the patio.
The name harkens back to the bank's history. The original bank, Hinton State Bank, first opened in 1902 at the intersection of Red Moon Trail and Anadarko Mission Trail.
Fuller said discussions have been held about a second restaurant-inside-a-bank for another Legacy location, but no plans have been made.
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