Since the late 1920s, this restaurant has served motorists on the historic Columbia River Highway. It began as a hot dog stand and beer joint at the east end of the Sandy River Bridge. During the 1930s, it became the Tap Pot Inn, where Tad Johnson, remembered as a handsome rascal and fisherman, sold smoked fish and beer. Later owners renamed the roadhouse after Tad and added chicken and dumplings to the menu. Shortly after World War II, it was moved to this site to make way for the first water-level highway through the Columbia River Gorge.