Fall City Roadhouse formerly, The Riverside Tavern and The Colonial Inn has had a presence in the Snoqualmie Valley since the original building was erected in 1916-17. The duplex, which still stands behind the corner location, was moved away from the intersection of Preston Fall City Road and Highway 202 to make way for a large one story restaurant.

In 1931, the second floor sleeping rooms and banquet room were added. At first, the rooms housed school teachers who worked in Fall City, but could not find a place to live because of the rural nature of the area.

In 1966, The Colonial Inn began a long run as a local favorite and a destination restaurant. “We had an employee who baked pies for us in house for over 20 years, people would call and ask what the daily selections were and then drive out from Mercer Island for coffee and pie in the afternoon.”, reports then owner, Ed DeGrace. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, Crabfeeds, Hayrides, Golf tournaments, live music four nights a week.

In 1990, the Colonial Inn, was the exterior Roadhouse image, used in the Peabody and Golden Globe winning series set in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, WA. The serial TV drama used images from in and around The Snoqualmie Valley, for the show’s pilot and later for the actual series.

In 2005, the building was bought by Scott Krahling and Charlie and Leslie Kellogg. Arnold Shain, arguably, the premier restaurant concept developer in the Northwest, founder of Restaurant Group, became involved. Transformation of the old structure, which needed extensive structural, equipment and cosmetic changes, was also complicated by the need to install extensive new operating systems and substantial seismic upgrades: making sure the window covered building survives in the event of an earthquake. Bringing the inside of the building into a new era, was done by Sue Genty of SGID, Inc. restaurant interior design experts. Restaurant Group, Inc., acted as project managers, hired management staff, developed menus, trained the service team and put bookkeeping procedures into place.

“It’s a cool historic building”, say the new owners, We thought three years ago that Eastsiders who still only have one third of the dining options available to Seattleites, might not want to drive so far. We thought that a fun, affordable, neighborhood gathering place, that serves exciting, innovative made from scratch dishes, using local, seasonal products, would be welcome. That’s how Fall City Roadhouse was born, we are ready to embrace our community and be part of what makes it so worthwhile.”