MCHENRY – More than 30 years after Kim Ribar got her start as a carhop in a "horrendous" plaid Western shirt at McHenry's A&W, she is the sole owner of her own restaurant.

Despite going solo, Ribar plans on keeping the name of Kim & Patty's Cafe, a small breakfast and lunch place surrounded by corporate parks in southern McHenry.

"A lot of the customers I had then, I still have now," she said. "I've always just had them. I've had their families. I've seen their kids grow up, and actually when we opened here, my first boss from when I was 15, he had his 90th birthday party here."