For example is it correct to say, "The restaurant was standing on the side of the highway?"
I also thought of erected. Though I'm not very sure about it.
Is standing acceptable in this case? Are there more appropriate verbs?
Learn English – Is “standing” an acceptable verb to use for a building
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Google Ngram data provides a little insight although the introduction of the Segway was quite recent. There does seem to be a dip in the use of 'segue' since around 2003 which coincides somewhat with the rise of the Segway in the common consciousness.
Perhaps 'segue' is at a disadvantage owing to its not having what might be called an 'intuitive' spelling. Hence the more phonetically appealing 'segway', boosted by the invention and subsequent naming of the ridiculous personal transport vehicle, is making inroads.
(My personal opinion: the word is spelled 'segue' and always will be. Anything else is just laziness and poor literacy.)
Until recently, "building" would only be used of a physical construction where parts fit together, usually with some structural complexity or permanence, though now the meaning has also been transferred to non-physical domains (eg software system, company, relationship) but still with the connotation of (relative) permanence, and of pieces fitted together in an ordered way.
It would be odd to use it of a dish, because the result is not intended to be in any way permanent. I could imagine a cookery writer talking about a chef "building" a cake or a pie, but that would be a deliberately non-standard use to make a point about the complexity or solidity of the result.
Your example of a bank is interesting: "I am building a bank" would unequivocally say that you are creating the building (and not that you necessarily have any connection with the bank itself: you might just be a builder), whereas "I am making a bank", though unusual, would imply that you are creating the bank as a business and not as a building. (In line with the metaphorical extension I have mentioned above, I could just about imagine somebody saying "I am building a bank" with the second meaning, putting an emphasis on all the different structures and processes they need to put together to create a banking business; but they would be liable to be misunderstood if they said this).
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A building can certainly be standing - here's an example of that use in journalism.
If you use "was standing" there's an implication that it isn't there any more. So "stood" might be better.
I would prefer "at the side of the highway" or "beside the highway" rather than "on".
"was erected" has the opposite problem to "was standing" - it sounds like you're discussing the building process.
I suggest "The restaurant stood at the side of the highway".