If these walls could talk…
The first business in the current Tap Room location was not a bar at all, though no one recalls what type of business it was. Thanks to Gary Harmon, we have some history about how the “Tap Room” business evolved and came to be located at 244 Main St in Shelby, Montana.
The original “Tap Room” bar was called Turk’s Bar, owned by Amos and Nelly Turk sometime around 1917. It was located in what is now the Montana Club and included 2 barber stools with Turk’s Cafe in the back of the building. A black and white photo of Turk’s Bar hangs in the Tap Room today. The Turks were grandparents of the Tap Room’s later owner, Gary Harmon.
Sometime around 1923, the business moved to a location between what is now the Mint Bar and the Sports Club. It was known as “Hogan’s Tap Room”, named after Hogan, the owner. The population of Shelby, MT was 500 and a beer cost 10 cents.
In 1959, a fire started in the Mint and quickly spread throughout half of main street, destroying 11 businesses. After this, the Tap Room was relocated to it’s current location in the spring of 1960. The store next door (what is now T&T Creations) used to be an Army Navy store. In fact, a large Levi Strauss & Co sign that currently hangs on the walls of the Tap Room came from this Army Navy store.
Hogan passed away soon after the fire and it passed down to Phil Eastwick in 1961. Phil had worked for Hogan so long prior to his ownership that he also became known as “Hogan”. Around this time, a beer cost 35 cents.
Years later, following Phil’s passing, his step-daughter, Shirley Hughes, took over and ran the bar for 2 years. Around 1988, Hogan’s Tap Room sold to Jack & Jeanne Stokes.
Don and Barb Donahue owned the Tap Room next from approximately 1990 to 2000.
In 2000, Gary and Barb Harmon purchased the Tap Room. Beer cost about $1.75 at this time.
In 2025, it changed hands again—from one 3rd generation Montana bar owner to another. Walter and Tanya Forwood purchased the business from the Harmons.