Banana Joe's / Margarita Mama's

Ed - This appears to be from a KATV news story found here.

The following is an excerpt from an email I received and thought everyone should know about:

Banana Joe�s and its companion restaurant Margarita Mama's opened for business in the Rivermarket on March 20th. It took a lot of hard work from a lot of local contractors to make that opening date a reality. Many of those contractors say they have had to work just as hard since then to collect their money. Electrician Ron Bank is one of them. "The place is packed with people every night and they can't pay their bills to people who put them in business. My name is Bank but I�m not a financial institution. My intention when I started this job was not to finance these guys and that's what they're using us for and that's wrong."

The views expressed above are not necessarily the views of the website's creators or contributors. So don't shoot the messenger!
Here's the full text:

Banana Joe�s and its companion restaurant Margarita Mama's opened for business in the Rivermarket on March 20th. It took a lot of hard work from a lot of local contractors to make that opening date a reality. Many of those contractors say they have had to work just as hard since then to collect their money. Electrician Ron Bank is one of them. "The place is packed with people every night and they can't pay their bills to people who put them in business. My name is Bank but I�m not a financial institution. My intention when I started this job was not to finance these guys and that's what they're using us for and that's wrong."

(James Randaleas/Planet Dirt Excavation) "I�ve spent over $10,000 dollars out of my pocket to do this job. And, for a month's work, $5,000 dollars profit is not very much. And to lose the $10,000 plus the $5,000, that puts a big dent in somebody's pocketbook."

In addition to the $20,000 the electrician and excavator say they are owed, a lighting contractor says he is owed $4,200. Two plumbers: $9,100. The architect: $2,500. The refrigeration specialist says he is owed $3,000 and the flooring guy another $1,250.

Earlier this month a Banana Joe�s and Margarita Mama's closed in Denver. Contractors and the landlord in that city claim to be owed millions of dollars. Last week the Banana Joe�s and Margarita Mama's in Portland was shut down for failure to pay rent.

(James Randaleas) "It�s not fair to me. It's not fair to the other contractors, not just in Arkansas but wherever they do business."

Banana Joe�s and Margarita Mama's is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Our calls to company officials have gone unreturned. As for the contractors here in Arkansas, none of them have been paid in full but most are being paid something each week. They don't like it but say it's better than not being paid at all.

The views expressed above are not necessarily the views of the website's creators or contributors. So don't shoot the messenger!