The Eyecatching Branch Design at VISIONBank

The main office of VISIONBank was never going to look much like a bank branch from the outside. The building, a former eatery in Fargo, N.D., was rehabbed 10 years ago to accommodate the then-new community bank. But with its stone façade and multi-level roof, the location still looks more like a restaurant than a bank, especially at night, when its neon signs illuminate the street corner.

Inside, VISIONBank doesn't look much like the average bank, either. Founder and CEO Dan Carey wants his customers to feel at home here. So there's a fireplace where visitors can warm up in winter, a grand piano (Carey plays), a conference room that gets used on weekends by a prayer group, and a refrigerator stocked to suit customers' tastes.

"If your favorite drink is Dr. Pepper or Diet Coke, you know where the fridge is at VISIONBank," Carey says. The bank, which has $145 million in assets and 44 employees, added a second branch in 2005. It's on the opposite side of town but incorporates many of the same design elements as the first location. Says Carey, "It's probably a unique setting compared to most banks." (To see how, click here to see an image gallery.)