When Darden Restaurants decided to close its Olive Garden Italian Restaurant on Scottsville Road and open a new barbecue restaurant, many people were left scratching their heads why another barbecue restaurant in a town that already has plenty to offer?But Friday night, all of that seemed forgotten as the new Smokey Bones BBQ Sport Bar began its first weekend of operation with a full house and some satisfied customers. Its good, said Caleb Longenberger of Bowling Green, who sat at the bar, munching on a pork platter and watching the University of Kentuckys less-than-stellar performance on one of the restaurants 49 televisions. The bartendings great and theres plenty of food. Darden, a publicly traded company and one of the largest casual dining restaurant companies in the world with more than 1,100 restaurants, is known for its Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants, the latter of which has a location at 2525 Scottsville Road. Its also starting to grow the Smokey Bones portion of its operation. The Scottsville Road location is the companys 17th Smokey Bones; the rest are scattered throughout Chicago, Michigan and in the northeast. Darden owns 471 Olive Gardens and 661 Red Lobsters throughout the country. More locations are to be opened this summer, including Evansville and Louisville. David Smith, Smokey Bones general manager, came from Michigan to oversee the new stores opening and has several years of restaurant management experience.Its a great place to be, Smith said. Theres a lot of quality people in Bowling Green that weve been able to hire.A staff of 110 covers the 3,200 square feet of space in the restaurant that has a capacity of 320.About 40 percent are students who can make $8 to $10 an hour, including tips, Smith said. He said since the Olive Garden closed in August, the company has spent an estimated $3 million in renovating the restaurant into the new operation.While the Downtown Redevelopment Authority offices have moved, its mission remains the same. The authority has moved from the Milliken Building at College and 11th Ave. into the Princess Building at 432 E. Main Ave., Suite 1. Its certainly an appropriate match with the authoritys plan to revitalize The District, which has included getting grants to renovate or restore the facades on many of the historic downtown buildings. Were really excited to be here, DRA Executive Director Cheryl Blaine. Weve always wanted to be on the square and be more visible. This will allow us to really have a much more accessible visitors center and better serve visitors to the city much better.Built in 1914 for the Crescent Amusement Company, the Princess Building is believed to be Kentuckys first movie theater. The facility was converted to office space in 1959. With less space, the authoritys board of directors will meet at the Bowling Green Municipal Utilities Energy Services Building at 829 Center St. at 11:30 a.m. the second Tuesday of each month. While the DRAs mission, telephone and fax numbers remain unchanged, the authority has a new mailing address: P.O. Box 32, Bowling Green, KY 42102. Mikes Cycle World in Bowling Green has been named one of the top 100 dealerships in North America by an industry publication. The Dealernews, which is distributed to all motorcycle dealers on the continent, recognized the Bowling Green operation at 3108 Nashville Road for its cutting-edge retail design and merchandising, according to accessories manager Perry Vincent. Mikes Cycle World, which has been in business for 22 years, received its award at a reception Feb. 22 in Indianapolis.The level of professionalism has never been higher among motorcycle retailers, and their passion for the product still clearly comes through, said Robin Harfiel, Dealernews editor-in-chief. Although the economy has seen a slump, the motorcycle business still experienced 20 percent growth in 2001 and the dealers are obviously stepping things up. Business reporter Jim Waters can be reached at 783-3269.