It all started in the girl’s section of Kohl’s. Old friends Tamme Leff and Kristy McDonald ran into each other while shopping for school clothes for their daughters.

As the friends caught up with each other, Leff mentioned her desire to open a bakery and coffee shop. Coincidentally, McDonald said she and her husband were looking to open a restaurant in Dallas. A week later, the three met to discuss merging their concepts.

The trio opened 5th Street Patio Cafe in 2009. Leff said it was the beginning of an economic downturn—perhaps the worst time to open a restaurant.

“Everybody was like, ‘What are y’all doing?’” she said. “We’re in the middle of nowhere—downtown didn’t have all of this going on—in a horrible economy with a restaurant that has no brand recognition. And we went, ‘Yeah, but we’re Kristy and Tamme.’”

Nine years later, the 5th Street Patio Cafe is still thriving with an ever-expanding menu.

The menu includes breakfast dishes, salads, pastas, sandwiches and newly introduced Mexican dishes. It also has an array of baked desserts.

The most popular menu item is the Grown Up Grilled Cheese, a sandwich with bacon, tomato, Swiss and American cheese on parmesan-crusted bread. The French toast dishes are some of the more popular breakfast entrees. If a customer wants a dish not on the menu, the 5th Street Patio Cafe kitchen staff will try to accommodate.

“We can make everything to order,” McDonald said. “We have one item on the menu that comes in pre-made, and that’s our Black Bean Veggie Burger because that’s a good vegetarian option … everything else we make here.”

Leff and McDonald said they know many of their customers by what they order and even get to know their families through the years.

“[The restaurant is] family-owned, not corporate, not a franchise; it’s your hometown cafe,” Leff said.