[5] The chain was founded by Donald Townsend and his younger brother Neal, who named it after Alan Tadeus Kay, his friend and business partner.

The meat, marinated in papaya juice to tenderize the inferior cuts used, was cooked over a type of tile invented by the elder Townsend; it was designed to look like charcoal, but was cleaner and easier to regulate.

[6] Eliminating waiters by having customers take their food to tables on trays saved costs,[6] as did relying on word-of-mouth for publicity instead of advertising.

He moved into the food industry after being injured, opening a hot dog stand in Pullman and several diners in Seattle, and then taking a job with Borden in California.

He and his brother Neal, seven years his junior, ran a number of coffee shops, dairy bars, and fast food diners, the latter reported to be the first of their kind in the country.

But, wrote Shoulberg, they failed to keep up with the changing times and lost their place to competitors such as Outback, Red Lobster, Chili's, and Panera as well as services such as GrubHub, Uber Eats, and Postmates which do home delivery of restaurant meals.

He described the chain as having become "increasingly irrelevant" and "an anachronism with its red velvet walls, fake Tiffany lamps, and overall garish demeanor".

[8] Robert Brenner of Untapped New York described the interior decoration as "bordello-esque – red flocked wallpaper, fake Tiffany lamps" and noted that the "service was indifferent", with food served cafeteria style.

[13] Kathleen Doherty, in her Walking San Francisco guidebook, wrote that the Powell Street location, "with its gaudy sign looking like a holdover from the vaudeville era, still purveys shoe-leather cuts, charbroiled and served over the counter".

Wine was available, offered pre-poured into glasses covered with saran wrap and available for self-service as you proceeded down the cafeteria style line to the cashier.

Romeo compared the Tad's business model to that of later-day Chipotle or Wendy's; by minimizing labor costs, having a limited menu, buying lower-cost cuts of meat, and anticipating customer demand, they were able to offer a meal at rock-bottom prices and still make a profit.