The Bar v. the Bank

San Francisco's many old-line bistros offer stiff competition to any newcomer, but the three-month-old Bar of America is booming. Reason: an unintentional publicity lift from the Bank of America, which hit with a lawsuit accusing the bar's owners of confusing the public, thereby cashing in on the reputation of the nation's largest bank. Insists Jerry Dal Bozzo, one of five investors in the bar: "We just thought it was a good name."

In July the investors won approval for a $40,000 loan from the Bank of America, only to have it withdrawn when the bank found out the intended name. Dal Bozzo et al. got the money from Crocker National and opened anyway, on Belden Street, half a block away from the bank's towering headquarters. The Bank of America filed its suit and was promptly razzed by Herb Caen, the San Francisco Chronicle columnist.

The bank went so far as to pull the bar's BankAmericard, then restored it upon discovering that a written agreement authorizing it was in existence.

The proximity of the comfortable, brass-chandeliered bar, say the bank's lawyers, could lead the public to believe that the former is either connected with or endorsed by the latter. Dal Bozzo is rolling along with the momentum.

The bar has hired one Mo Giannini as a night manager. The legendary A.P.

Giannini (no relation) founded the bank in 1904.

Meanwhile, north of the city in Truckee, Calif., there has peacefully existed for almost two years another unrelated Bar of America.

Its location: a former Bank of America branch office.

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