“Old timers will remember when The Irish Inn at Glen Echo was Trav's, a sort of roadhouse-type beer joint and hangout, known for its chili. Its clientele ranged from tattooed bikers to Washington lawyers. In 1984, a car repair shop employee from Gaithersburg died in the side yard after a fight. Glen Echo Mayor Fred Kuster wrote the county police that the lives of Glen Echo residents were “placed in jeopardy by gangs of motorcyclists and drunkards.” The establishment, which was owned by Travis Butler, closed a couple years later.

Earlier, from 1944 to 1964, the tavern was known as Otto's Grill, and was owned by Otto Kumfert, who lived variously at 19 and 17 Vassar Circle. Until his death in 1980, he visited his old establishment every morning at nine o'clock to sip a few beers with friends.

The tavern was built by Shorty Daley around 1931 when Prohibition ended. From 1986 to 2002 it was an upscale restaurant, The Inn at Glen Echo. On New Years Eve, 2003, it re-opened as The Irish Inn At Glen Echo.

The tavern stood on the site of an old frame house owned by the Moxley family. Mr. Moxley had an artificial hand and made his living picking up trash at Glen Echo Park with a horse and buggy. In May 1930, the house burned down in a tragic fire. Mrs. Moxley and her four children died in the fire. Her husband survived after jumping from the second story window.”