TROUTDALE, Ore. — Tad's Chicken 'n Dumplins in Troutdale, one of the Portland area's oldest and most historic restaurants, is up for sale for $2.5 million.
Located at 1325 Historic Columbia River Highway, along the Sandy River, it's known by customers for its sunset views and large portions of homestyle cooking, most notably its chicken and dumplings.
"It's sort of like going to a family place, going back home," said longtime patron Cheryl Bland.
Tad's moved to its present location in the 1930s.
"It was $1.75 for a full dinner," said Sharon Nesbit, looking over an old Tad's menu at the Troutdale Historical Society. Nesbit is the historian there and a longtime Tad's customer.
"I just found a quote in our materials that said, 'Some people didn't know what Troutdale was, but they knew they had to go through it to get to Tad's,'" Nesbit said, laughing.
Over nearly a century, just a handful of people have owned Tad's, which started as a small stand at the end of the Troutdale Bridge. That's where local fisherman and bon vivant Tad Johnson sold smoked smelt.
"Tad was kind of a rascal," Nesbit said of his historical lore. "He had a little trouble with alcohol and he was handsome and the ladies were all quite smitten with him."
In 1950, Olga Holmberg bought Tad's. Eventually, her daughter Judy Jones took over. This month, Jones put the restaurant up for sale.
A message posted on Tad's Facebook page said, "After 30-plus years of hard work, fun, holidays and sunsets seen from the dining room, Judy is ready to retire."
"If anybody changes (Tad’s), we'll go down there and kill 'em!" Nesbit joked. "I want somebody just like Judy to buy it and not mess it up. It's an institution."
The author of Tad's Facebook post said the restaurant will be running as normal for now and invited people to stop in for dinner and to watch a sunset over the Sandy River.
"I hope it keeps going in at least some form of how it's been, in that it has big portions, sturdy drinks and being able to see the river," patron Jenna Ryan said.