Kelly's Eastside

"I like the area," he said. "It's close to my house. It's on the east side where my kids went to school. It was something that the east side needed—all the restaurants were being built on the west side or on the highway—and this building just had a good feel to it."

Through the years, Kelly's Eastside has weathered the drastic changes in downtown Plano. The once quiet area now has modern apartments and more than a dozen restaurants. Downtown has become a hub for the late-night crowd, with many patrons walking from nearby apartments.

Kelly said more people coming to downtown Plano is a good thing. But in the past few years, business has not been without its challenges—namely a lack of parking, road construction that makes it difficult to navigate the area and increased competition from an influx of restaurants.

Kelly's Eastside earns its share of patrons by keeping a stock of 28 beers on draft, including about eight to 10 rotating craft beers. The most popular side of the restaurant, the bar area, features an eclectic mix of couches, tall tables and enough TVs to keep sports fans happy, Kelly said.

Regardless of what is constructed around it, Kelly's Eastside keeps the nostalgic feel of downtown Plano. The restaurant was originally a blacksmith shop, and before the restaurant opened, he said stucco was stripped off the inside walls to allow the exposed brick and other original features to show through.

The restaurant's rustic feel is complemented by a menu that includes everything from burgers to barbecue, tacos, chicken-fried steak, salads and more.

"We cook on a wood-burning grill so all our hamburgers, our chicken and all our fish has a smoky smell," Kelly said. "We have a smoker in the back where we cook all the briskets, the ribs and the pork. We have your standard bar food but everything we have here is made fresh from scratch."

The most popular menu items are the burgers, Kelly said. There are nine to choose from, ranging from the Southwestern Burger (cheese, peppers, onion, guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo, $10.50) to the Hickory Jalapeno Burger (barbecue sauce, jalapenos, cheddar cheese and hickory smoked bacon, $10).

One of the owner's favorite dishes is the Texas Fajitas, served with chicken, brisket, pork or shrimp (starts at $15).Several desserts round out the menu choices, including carrot cake ($7.50), chocolate pecan pie ($6.50) and the ooey gooey cake, not even listed on the menu.

Kelly's Eastside, 1422 K Ave., 972-424-9200, www.kellyseastside.com, Hours: Mon.–Sun. 11 a.m.–2 a.m.