Veteran Serves Award-Winning Burgers in Great Falls, MT

Owner's military and nursing experience helps her flip careers and launch a successful diner.

By Amy Antonation on January 31, 2024

Courtesy of Tara Beam

Tara Beam, who owns Roadhouse Diner with her husband, Jason, didn’t have a background in hospitality. Instead, the Great Falls native enlisted in the military when she was just 17 (“My dad had to sign on the line for me,” she says) and went on to serve for nearly a decade. 

She earned both nursing and business degrees during her service before she decided to make a colossal career change in 2015. 

“I was an ER nurse in Great Falls, and my husband did graphic design. He’d always tell me about his dreams of owning a restaurant,” Tara says. “Just seeing how the ER works and how we’re not guaranteed tomorrow, you better not leave anything undone.” 

So, when the pair found the building that now houses Roadhouse, they jumped at the chance to open their dream eatery and serve scrumptious burgers in Great Falls.

Tara, who says opening her diner was even harder than boot camp, applied her nursing skills to restaurant ownership in some unexpected ways. 

“We had to make changes immediately after our first day, then bigger changes the next month. You have to look, listen and feel like you do in nursing,” she says. 

That’s been a winning prescription for the Beams: In 2017, Tara competed on Food Network’s “Guy’s Grocery Games” and took home top honors for her burger; since then, the spot has brought home awards for best burger in Montana (Business Insider) and one of the 25 best diners in the U.S. (Travel + Leisure). 

The good press can only help Roadhouse, which benefits from its location in one of the fastest-growing states in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Part of that growth is thanks to Great Falls’ Malmstrom Air Force Base, which draws service members to the area, some of whom decide to settle down there after their tours have ended. 

“When people find out I’m a vet, they can relate to me,” says Tara of her customers. “They are a wonderful mix of civilians, veterans and active duty.”