BEFORE OPENING PAWS on Tap in Whitestown at the beginning of June, Chad Johnson spent nearly 30 years in the software industry, including almost 15 years at Salesforce. The client management work he did there as senior director of professional services came in handy as he conceived and launched his 2,500-square-foot dog-friendly taproom.
Johnson’s idea for Paws on Tap started to form during travels with his daughter’s national-level youth soccer team. Looking for places to unwind between games, he noticed a coastal trend toward self-pour beer wall technology. Back home in Zionsville, he also saw a gap in a specific type of restaurant. “There were places that would allow dogs, but you could never bring them inside unless they were service dogs,” he says. “Even with service dogs, you would get seated in the back patio, hidden far away.”
For obvious reasons, health rules don’t allow dogs anywhere near food prep. But Johnson worked closely with the Indiana Department of Health and architect TJ Swanson to create a restaurant from the ground up, with those self-serve wall taps, a large beer garden, and a kitchen specifically designed so that dogs could never enter. Customers can order from a surprisingly dense menu of flatbreads, melts, tacos, and hot dogs as well as a tail-wagging selection of freeze-dried meatballs, peanut butter balls, and doggy ice cream.
Color-coded leashes provided to four-legged customers signal whether a dog is friendly (green), needs some space (red), or is somewhere in the middle (yellow). Johnson hopes to eventually franchise the model. For now, he enjoys watching his customers connect with their best friends and new friends. 6827 Phipps Ln., Whitestown, pawsontap.com
