On a map, Mexico and Ireland are a world apart, but at a longtime family restaurant and bar in downtown Sterling, they’re next door neighbors.

For Kelly’s, with origins going back to the early 1950s, the connection between the two countries is not only part of the owners’ heritage, but their community’s, so having dishes from both on the same menu was a natural fit — they go together like, well, corned beef and tacos.

When second-generation co-owner Nancy Kelly-McDonnell sought to simply compliment what once was strictly a pub by adding a taste of Mexico in the early 1980s, she ended up helping create a unique destination where generations have enjoyed raising a glass and having a bite to eat — and while Kelly’s Irish-Mexican combination makes it unlike traditional Irish pubs, for her it wasn’t unusual at all.

Growing up here, Kelly-McDonnell was inspired to expand and perfect her culinary skills by the Mexican families she and her family were friends with as she was growing up, many of whom came to town in the 1950s in search of manufacturing jobs and a better life.

“I’ll get asked, ‘What’s an Irish bar doing serving Mexican food?’” she said. “I’ll be like, ‘You’re not from here, right?’ They’ll say that’s weird, but I’ll tell them: “No it’s not — not if you’re from Sterling.” I’ll tell them about the migration of the Mexicans when they came to town, and Silver City and all of that.

“It was just a natural fit.”

Nancy co-owns Kelly’s with sister-in-law Sally Kelly, whose husband Dan Kelly was a co-owner for 20 years before he died in 2004. Nancy and Dan’s father, Ed Kelly, started the business in 1952 as Ed and John’s Flamingo Tap, named for Ed and his business partner John Flock, who retired in 1979, after which the bar was renamed Kelly’s. Ed retired in 1984 and his children assumed ownership.

Since then, Kelly’s has grown into a local favorite among pub patrons and food fans, outlasting the industries that once helped sustain it with a steady stream of factory workers, some of whom even had a hand in helping its menu evolve.

While Kelly’s is known as much for its Mexican menu as it Emerald Isle imports, not every day is the best of both worlds: When St. Patrick’s Day rolls around, don’t expect to head south of the border for food. That day is set aside for Irish favorites such as a variety of corned beef dishes and Reuben sandwiches — a tribute to the Kellys’ Irish heritage.

Back when Kelly’s started serving its first corned beef sandwiches in 1982, two years before the restaurant was established, it took only 35 pounds of the salty meat to fill the orders. That’s a far cry from how much they sell today, Nancy said. In recent years, anywhere between 800 and 1,000 pounds of corned beef are set aside for a packed house every March 17, and the taste of Ireland has spread to other days before and after the holiday, with special menu items.

“The last couple of years, we’ve started it early,” Sally said. “The week before, we’ll have specials like corned beef tacos, or hash, things like that. You don’t hear about corned beef tacos. They’re good.”

When the menu does head back south, it leads to quesadillas, fajitas, enchiladas, nachos, flautas, and the restaurant’s signature Mexi-Kelly pizza, topped with a choice of taco meat or chicken and complimented with two cheeses, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and ripe olives, all on a large crisp flour tortilla. Another favorite is its carne guisada, made of tender pork pieces, spiced gravy, beans, rice and tortillas.

Elsewhere on the menu is more traditional bar food, including burgers, buffalo wings, chicken sandwiches, pork tenderloins, soups, and – of course – a Reuben. Looking for something on the healthier side? Salads with fajitas, buffalo chicken, shrimp and steak and bleu cheese also are available.

Much of the American fare came to the menu gradually over time as customers – many of whom were blue-collar workers from the nearby manufacturing businesses and railroad companies – kept suggesting it, Nancy said. The Kellys were happy to oblige.

“A lot of things that were added were added because of our customers,” Nancy said. “We had a bunch of railroad guys back in the day who would come in, and they’d ask, ‘Why don’t you make a hamburger?’ I don’t have a grill. ‘You got a frying pan, don’t you?’ They’d ask for soup, clam chowder, and ask for more things … One thing that they had buffalo wings, but not in Sterling. They had them in bigger cities and would tell me about them.”

Gradually, their persistence paid off and Kelly’s menu evolved into what it is today: and eclectic blend of flavor favorites from near and far.

Owning a food and drink establishment for 73 years as the Kelly Family has done is no small accomplishment. For 41 of those, Nancy has been at the center of it and has seen her share of changes and challenges, both in her town and in her business, from the decline of manufacturing stalwarts such as Northwestern Steel and Wire, National and Lawrence Brothers, to current challenges such as the rising cost of products. But the one thing that’s carried them through it all has been customers, and today, she and Sally — like Dan and Ed before them — have come to know the people who come through their doors, who share the stories of their hometown.

Nancy has an interest in local history, helping to keep her family’s story part of the local landscape for future generations. She became interested in sharing her business and building’s history and has researched and written about it for local historical publications; one of which is an account for “Whiteside County, Illinois History and Families,” published in 2013 by a group of county genealogists.

Kelly’s location has a long history with food and drink. In 1903, the site was home to a tiered bar — a business contractually tied to a particular supplier, often a brewery or liquor company — run by the Rock Island Brewing Co. The current building was built in 1916. From 1920-42 under three different owners and names, its proprietors also served food.

When John McDonnell and Frank Beien operated B&M Tap there in the mid-1940s, they installed a 40-foot, Art Deco inspired mahogany Brunswick back bar and counter that remains there today. Nancy once saw a similar arrangement at an Amboy tavern, and that one was relocated to a Rockford bar, she said.

B&M became Buck and Anne’s Tap in 1954, and it lasted until 1962. Two blocks to the west, Kelly and Flock operated the Flamingo at the southwest corner of West Third Street and Avenue A in a building owned by furniture store owner Lyman Prescott. When Buck and Anne’s closed, Kelly and Flock relocated their bar there, and the Kelly family has been in business at the same location ever since.

By the time Flock had retired, the bar was struggling to stay open, Nancy said. That’s when she hatched the idea to serve some of the food she enjoyed cooking.

“I started cooking food at home and bringing it down to help his business,” Nancy said. “We started very slow, but we got a little following. It was pretty amazing, and we were shocked. There was no place in town at the time that you could get a beer and have a taco. I think it’s good together.”

When Nancy, Ed and Sally took over, getting a kitchen in place was initially a challenge, Sally said.

“When we decided to expand, it didn’t have a kitchen,” Sally said. “We got a used stove and restaurant equipment from what used to be Dondero’s, anything that we could use.”

More than 40 years later, the Kellys have continued to make their place a unique destination — the Irish pub with Mexican food.

“We have great customers,” Nancy said. “The people up front make good money because the customers are appreciative and generous.”

And Kelly’s appreciates them, too, happy to welcome countless customers through the years — or as the Irish would say: Cead mile failte: “A hundred thousand welcomes.”

For more information, visit kellysinc.com.