Owner Angela Murphy’s freshly baked cinnamon rolls ($4) are popular among customersAngela’s at the Crosswalk owner Angela Murphy starts her workday at 5:30 a.m. each morning to open the café-turned-diner and bakes fresh bread, muffins and cookies. By 7 a.m., she is ready to greet her customers as they trickle in. By 8:30 a.m., she has already made three quiches, some cinnamon rolls and loaves of fresh bread.“To me, baking is relaxing. I forget the whole world when I am baking,” she said.[/caption]

From her 15th Street kitchen in Plano, Angela Murphy uses her grandmother’s mix of French and Italian recipes to bake scores of pies and desserts. Her favorite is the coconut creme pie, which is one of the most popular items since she opened her restaurant four years ago. “My inspiration was my grandmother—she used to bake all the time,” Murphy said. “She would make me a little man out of the bread. It was so cute.”

Murphy runs the restaurant, which offers a full bar and serves daylong breakfast, lunch and dinner with her business manager, Julie Holmer. Murphy started her cafe on 14th Street, where Holmer was a regular guest. Holmer said she frequented the cafe, where she worked remotely on her laptop and conducted business meetings. Murphy and Holmer became close friends during this time, and later decided to move the cafe closer to downtown and opted to introduce a bar to the concept. They called the new place Daisy’s Barn and Grill.

Initially, Holmer said both women wanted to keep the original name since Murphy had a large following thanks to her baking skills. Holmer said she did not have any experience in the restaurant business before, but said the partnership fell into place thanks in part to Murphy’s supportive clientele.

“My focus has been more on marketing and networking,” Holmer said. “Angela has been the inspiration behind this restaurant.”

Murphy said she loves the smalltown vibe of downtown Plano. “It is quaint, just like family,” she said. “Everyone knows each other. Everyone helps each other.”