This summer, Tap’t Out Stein-N-Dine in West Union re-opened its doors under the management of previous owners Troy (right) and Amie (left) Johansen. However, the bar and restaurant has some new blood this time around as Troy’s son, Chris Graham (center) and his mother, Melissa Thompson (not pictured), are also part of the team. (Zakary Kriener photo)
Tap't Out coming full circle with addition of family
Zakary Kriener
News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com
It’s a bit of a blast from the past on Main Street, West Union as longtime downtown bar and restaurant Tap’t Out Stein-N-Dine is back open for business.
After closing in 2013 and operating under different ownership for a brief time, the original Tap’t Out is back – but with a bit of a twist this time.
“At the beginning of this year, we first started talking about possible opening it back up,” said Troy Johansen. “My son, Chris (Graham) was living in Fort Collins, Colorado, and was debating moving back to the area to help run the restaurant. I showed him a few pictures of Tap’t Out back when it was open and I think that helped convince him.”
As many in the area may already know, Chris has a very unique story. Graham is the son of Johansen and Melissa Thompson, who gave birth to him in 1988. Because they were so young at the time, they decided to put Chris up for adoption. They spent the majority of their lives not knowing where Chris was or how he was doing.
Recently, in 2017, Troy, wife Amie, and Melissa reconnected with Chris in Colorado and the family began a new chapter that included Chris returning home to Iowa.
