Sign Of The Times

Businesses move into empty banks, taking advantage of the drive-in windows.

We always knew there had to be a bright side to the S&L crisis. Robert Nordyke, a Salem, Ore., lawyer, found one. He moved his law practice into an empty branch of an S&L. Nordyke likes the location -- across from the courthouse -- and with his drive-through window, he now advertises drive-up divorce. Maybe it's a trend: in Norwalk, Conn., George Risolo moved his florist business into an empty bank branch and rechristened it Flower Bank Inc. Risolo, too, likes the drive-through windows, and there's always growth to consider. He wants to franchise someday and notes that franchisees "won't have any trouble getting bank buildings."

-- Martha E. Mangelsdorf

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