Veteran builder Dennis Banks never one to stand still

Whoever decided that the concept of perpetual motion defies the laws of physics never met Dennis Banks.

Banks has been a fixture on the Reno construction scene for 27 years, even longer if you count the years he worked with his father, Benny Banks. The Reno native went to work for his dad when he was in high school, learning the ropes, and as he recalls, making a good living right out of high school in the trades. School never held Banks' interest much; he says he was bored through much of school, so working with his dad was the natural thing to do.

Boredom struck again Banks readily admits he gets bored easily but it's been a blessing. Each time he's sought something new, he's found success, and much of it has been with his wife of 30 years, Susan. Early in their marriage, for instance, the couple decided to start a business building redwood decks.

"My wife was the laborer," he says. "Each year, we'd double our business. Then we started doing room additions, then we moved into commercial business.

"A huge reason we're successful is my wife's ability to go with the flow," he continues, talking about his need to change things up. "She takes all the hard parts of what I do and she makes it work. Things like the accounting, and inventory. That's the part that fails a lot of businesses."

As co-owners of Dennis Banks Construction Company, the couple each manages to their strengths, and continues to diversify.

Casey Solum, Bank's partner for more than a decade, handles all of the construction business now. Banks says he concentrates on acquisition and new business development, which includes things like buying the Plumgate Shopping Center, and most recently, purchasing long-time Reno business, Napa Sonoma Gift Company, now renamed Napa Sonoma Grocery Company.

The business is located in Banks' Plumgate center, and while he never anticipated owning a wine and gift basket shop, it made sense, he says, to purchase the business when its previous owner was retiring, because he felt it could help his other Plumgate tenants.

"Owning retail centers, I have something to do with if they survive," he explains. "I spend a lot of time with the tenants, helping them."

The couple's two sons, Garrett and Davis, also work for the company, but both have taken different routes than their father. Garrett is currently working with the Napa Sonoma project focusing on design work, while Davis is concentrating on project management as attends the University of Nevada, Reno. Business is the focus of most of Banks' waking hours; it's not unusual for staff to receive emails from the boss that were sent at 1 a.m. or 4 a.m.

"I'm always on the go," he says. "I've got the iPhone, the iPad ... I'm always working."

Occasionally, however, Susan gets him out hiking, one of her favorite pastimes. Banks once spent most of his free time coaching baseball, even serving on the board of the National Pitching Association. He's taught kids how to pitch from Manogue High School to Western Nevada College, but when his son quit playing, he replaced baseball with hiking. In typical Banks' fashion, during his first week as a hiker he climbed Mt. Rose on a Monday, Half Dome on Friday, and last year, he and Susan hiked Mt. Whitney.

He's also a big fan of concerts, sometimes following a favorite artist from one concert to another the next night.

Business is doing well, Banks says, and that's not bad for a company that spent the better part of its first decade run out of a two-bedroom apartment.

"Each year when the insurance agent came in, that's when we started to know we were doing well. The bills were double," Banks remembers with a smile. "But now we are in a good situation. We don't have to take work we don't want. But we don't want to have to fire people at the end of the job. We're trying to be patient."

A man in motion

Who: Dennis Banks, co-owner of Dennis Banks Construction Company

Family: Wife, Susan; sons Garrett and Davis

He says: "Life has changed every month for the last 18 months more than it did in the last 30 years."