Waleed Farah said he wrote a thank-you letter to his former boss years after being laid off from his desk job because it led to the opening of his restaurant, Blue Olive Grill.

Farah said he has owned several other businesses over the years, but owning a restaurant has been his favorite venture.

“Making the food, preparing the food and the interaction with customers, that’s what I love,” said Farah, who has more than 24 years in the restaurant industry.

Blue Olive opened in McKinney on University Drive in 2014 across from Raytheon. The menu is derived from a combination of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Indian dishes, including gyros, falafel, baba ghanoush, curries, kebabs and much more.

“People call it a hole-in-the-wall, and [the] location is kind of obscure, but we have a ton of repeat customers,” Farah said.

Customers range from people on business lunches, families out for dinner and couples enjoying a night out, he said.

Farah said food is made fresh every day. Best selling dishes include the beef kofta, chicken kebab, curry dishes and oozi. Oozi is a popular Middle Eastern rice dish served with lamb or chicken.

But most of all, Blue Olive is known for its hummus, Farah said.

“People love my hummus,” he said. “... It’s just made right. It’s nice and smooth and creamy. It’s not garlicky. … It is just right. I make it fresh every morning.”