An archaic wooden door, complete with old-world hinges and a wrought iron handle in the shape of a roaring lion, is the first thing to greet visitors as they enter the Holy Grail Pub.

Harkening back to bars as old as the 1600s they visited during their travels in Europe, Brian and Christi Rudolph opened the pub and restaurant hoping it would become a community gathering spot for the city of Plano. Having recently observed the pub’s eighth anniversary Aug. 20, the Rudolphs feel they have filled that niche.

“By putting a real focus on our food, we have been able to expand our hours of sales, and bring in that crowd that’s looking for that community feel,” Brian said.

Christi and Brian Rudolph celebrated eight years of business on Aug. 20.[/caption]

Holy Grail Pub keeps customers coming back through its occasional promotional events, such as the “Game of Thrones”-themed weekend, which featured red ales to pair with freshly smoked wild boar.

“People use the term gastropub—I don’t like that term,” Brian said. “I think it’s a little pretentious because every pub should have good food.”

And the Rudolphs take pride in their food, such as the french fries, which are cut, soaked and blanched in-house over a 24-hour period.

“[Our food is] made from scratch,” Christi said. “We don’t do frozen food. Most chain restaurants now just heat up stuff from a bag.”

Pulling from his experience as a manager of the Old Monk Pub in Dallas, combined with his relationships with local beer and whiskey aficionados, Brian has gathered a large selection of beers and whiskeys.

“We have a very active rotating list of new seasonal draft,” Christi said.

The pub’s stash of whiskeys, curated by Brian, expands so quickly that Christi said she hardly has time to update the menu.

“I view it as diversification,” Brian said. “You can have a pub that has a really good beer selection, and that’s it—well, you’re monochromatic. … Here, we have great food, so we have another market we go after.”

Kicking off their ninth year of business, the Rudolphs plan to soon add 50 percent more seating to the pub.