When the Citizens Bank building of Shelby was opened and dedicated on Oct. 17, 1911, an article in the Shelby Daily Globe described the building as signifying a new order of things for the community.
“It signifies a greater desire on the part of our people to excel in those graces which tend to uplift, to beautify, and by example to show what may be done to create a new spirit and implant new ideas,” the article read on Oct. 12, 1911.
More than 100 years later, Shelby resident Ben Lash hopes to bring those same ideals back to the Citizens Bank building with the opening of The Vault Wine Bar. Originally the co-owner of Paul’s Drive-In in Shelby, Ben has since sold his share of Paul’s and fully committed himself to The Vault.
“That was a struggle for me to part with (Paul’s), I thought I was going to retire from there,” said Ben. “But we jumped in with everything we had to make this happen.”
When Ben and his wife Cindy first had the idea of opening a wine bar in Shelby, their first idea was to look for a small place – until curiosity drove them to inquire about the “For Sale” sign in front of the old bank.
“After we first came in here and looked at the place we thought, this was the place to do it,” said Cindy. “We pretty much stopped looking at other locations; we thought if we couldn’t do it here, we weren’t going to do it.”
The Lashs signed the lease for the bank on Oct. 1, and then got to work pulling up carpet, refinishing wood floors, replacing the ceiling and tearing off the wallpaper. Local contractors, electricians and architects have all contributed to The Vault, especially the building of their custom bar with marble panels from the original teller booths. The process of refinishing the bank’s interior ended up taking much longer than they initially expected.
“When we first looked at we thought we were going to try to be open by Christmas,” said Ben with a laugh. “Then we found out we had to have an architect, then we found out how much architects charge. We just kept plowing forward.”
Once the bank’s interior was completed, the menu followed. Cindy stated that The Vault will have more than 30 bottles of wine behind the bar to be sold by the glass as well as a retail wine selection with more than 100 bottles from a variety of locations, including California, Washington, Oregon, Ohio and Europe. Also available will be eight craft beers on tap and another 20 bottled beers. In the kitchen, The Vault will offer smaller food plates of “upscale bar food,” including artisan pizzas, salads and desserts.
“We want to do different wines and beers people can’t get anywhere else, we’re all about uniqueness,” said Cindy. “The whole concept is unique, that’s what we’ve geared everything around.”
Perhaps the most unique aspect of The Vault is the vault itself – the original bank vault installed in the bank in 1910 will be open for guests to wander through, and will display a handful of wine bottles. Don’t worry, the door to the vault will be bolted open.
“It’s so neat to see how much workmanship went into that back then, and you wonder how they did it in 1910,” said Ben.
The Vault will be open Tuesday through Saturday starting at 4 p.m., closing at 11 p.m. on weekdays and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. The bar will be closed on Sunday and Monday. Ben said he is currently waiting to obtain his liquor license from the state, and is set to open around May 9.
Both Ben and Cindy have a lot of ideas for the future of The Vault, including food and wine/beer pairings, tastings, art classes and live entertainment on the outdoor patio. Ben said overall he wants to create a fun, relaxed atmosphere.
“We’re not planning on putting up any televisions; we want it to all be about interaction with people and socializing, hanging out and creating a fun time,” he said.
When he initially signed the lease to the bank, Ben admitted he was nervous. However, after seeing how excited the public has been for the opening, his mind has been put at ease.
“At first I was wondering, can Shelby support a wine bar? There were a lot of people that were naysayers at first, but they didn’t have the vision,” he said. “If we can put together some good service and good food out of the kitchen, I’m not worried at all.”
“We want to do different wines and beers people can’t get anywhere else, we’re all about uniqueness,” said Cindy. “The whole concept is unique, that’s what we’ve geared everything around.”
