Lines had been drawn and sides had been taken years ago. The King family did not interact with the Elliot family, and neither did the Grahams nor the Castros. The Elliots had burned those bridges decades ago, and none of the Bank Street crew made mention of them. They certainly never ate at their restaurant.
The Elliots didn't shop at King's Hardware, go to Bank Street Boxing, or the ballet studio on the corner. In fact, they didn't even go to Carson's Diner. The Elliot family stayed off of Bank Street entirely. Both families had a stake in Galveston, but they lived without supporting each other or interacting in any way.
A romantic match between members of these two families would be impossible. It wouldn't just be frowned upon, it would be terrible, disastrous, absolutely forbidden. That was exactly why two of them could never fall in love. It's a good thing love doesn't play by the rules.