FARGO — Jeff Thomas says that early on in his work life he often held jobs in the hospitality industry.

There was the A & W restaurant on University Drive South in Fargo, where Thomas worked in his early teens.

Later, it was a job at McDonald's and later still, during his college days, Thomas worked at the Fargo Cork'n Cleaver restaurant, first as a dishwasher and later as a server.

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Thomas said he always thought of the work as interesting and intriguing, even after he had established himself in the banking world.

Then around 2015, Thomas noticed a liquor license was becoming available in Fargo and that stirred in him an idea he had long toyed with about opening a neighborhood bar.

The idea ultimately blossomed into what became Frank's Lounge, the bar and grill Thomas opened in early 2015 at 2640 52nd Ave. S., and named after his late father, whom Thomas described as an insurance salesman of high regard.

Ten years on, Thomas said he is happy with how the business — one of many in the Fargo-Moorhead area named after real people — has become an integral part of the community and he said Frank's Lounge makes a point of giving back to that community in whatever ways it can, including helping local schools.

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A salient feature of the business is a pink neon sign of a cat, one of three neon signs that once adorned the outside of the Pink Pussycat Lounge in downtown Fargo, which is now long gone, replaced with a parking lot.

The Pink Pussycat sign that today glows within Frank's Lounge has come to define the bar's vibe, inspiring an abundance of cat-themed art throughout the lounge.

"It is absolutely amazing the number of people we talk to who have some history with that (Pink Pussycat sign), whether it was a parent who used to go there, or a distributor that worked there," Thomas said.

"For me, I just remember the big sign when we'd go downtown," Thomas said, adding that the neon sign he ended up acquiring was so compelling he considered naming his bar and grill after the iconic downtown watering hole, but went with Frank's Lounge instead.

The reason was two-fold, according to Thomas, who said the name honors his father's memory and also "just rolls off the tongue."

Thomas said there is a common misconception that his father had some kind of affiliation with the Pink Pussycat Lounge, but he said that is not the case.

Even so, Thomas said he believes his father would be pleased with the sign that graces his namesake lounge and pretty much everything else about the business.

"I think he'd be proud of us in what we did," Thomas said.