PENDLETON — Many motorists whizzing past Interstate 69’s Exit 19 likely dismiss the interchange as yet another concentration of chain stores along the road to Indianapolis, Michigan and points beyond.

But it takes looking past the familiar logos for McDonald’s and Burger King to find the hidden story of this developing exit.

Pendleton, a historic community centered about a mile from the highway, sits at the rim of urban development creeping northeast from Hamilton County. Exit 19 is the town’s connection to interstate travel, and while the town expands, land around the exit is filling with more businesses, homes and community sites. And there’s still plenty of vacant land left to claim.

“There’s all kinds of possibilities down in that corridor,” said Rob Sparks, executive director of the Madison County Corporation for Economic Development.

For one family-run business, Exit 19 offered an alternate location when downtown Pendleton became too crowded.

Last February, Downing’s Old Trail Bar and Grill moved into a former Dairy Queen site near the exit.

Paul Downing, a manager at the restaurant his parents own, said traffic congestion and parking was becoming an increasing concern, so after 55 years in the heart of Pendleton, the business moved west.

The relocation has helped the restaurant gain drive-by business, Downing said.

Simple roadside signs promising lunch specials until 3 p.m. often attract travelers wanting something other than fast food, he said, and he expects business to increase as the area continues to grow.

“You see everything is building up from Fishers, so eventually everything is going to build up to Anderson,” Downing said.

But whatever development opportunities are proposed, the town of Pendleton is making sure it suits it needs and doesn’t cheapen any image it has as a comfortable, historic town.

“We’re going to be very careful about what we bring in to the community,” Town Council President Don Henderson said. “We have some very high-end development to the west, so we want to be sure that it’s not impacted adversely.”

The town is offering tax incentives to the first developer to bring a hotel to Exit 19, but for now there are no definite plans.

A proposal for a family resort center with restaurants, a hotel and entertainment spots, recently went before the council, but Henderson said he was waiting for more specifics.

“I haven’t heard enough about it to really sit down and judge it,” he said.