Feb 16, 2017 | Billy "Goat" Sianis, Madison
One morning in the early summer of 1934, a baby goat falls off a truck traveling east on Madison Street. Dazed and limping, it wanders into the Lincoln Tavern. Sianis sees the goat and sends one of his waiters out to get a baby bottle. While he is feeding the goat, a lawyer sitting at the bar suggests that Sianis adopt the goat, saying: “You’ll get a million dollars worth of free publicity.” This seems like a very good idea to Sianis since his cash register is taking in only seven dollars a day. David Condon, a Tribune columnist who becomes one of the most prolific and imaginative chroniclers of Sianis’ activities, writes that the tavern owner went to courts where” the attorney ad judge conferred. The judge paroled the goat ‘into the custody of William Sianis for life.'”
Immediately, Sianis renames his tavern the Billy Goat Inn and begins to grow a spade goatee to fit the part. There is a small patch of grass in the yard behind the tavern, and there the goat lives and happily nibbles, the first of many goats to call the place home. “All of the Chicago police, if they find a stray goat, and a long time ago there wre lots of goats wandering around, they bring them to my uncle,” says Sam. “They know that my uncle will take good care of the goats.”
…from the book A Chicago Tavern a Goat, a Curse, and the American Dream
Feb 14, 2017 | Cheezborger, Valentine's Day
Roses are red. Violets are blue. But a cheezborger says: “I really love you!”
This Valentine’s Day, we have the Perfect Couple. Nothing goes together like cheez and a borger.
Netflix and Cheezborger?
Feb 8, 2017 | Cheezborger
In 2001, Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos came to visit Billy Goat Tavern. He even got to work behind our world-famous flat top grill.
“He can come again tomorrow at lunch if the internet thing doesn’t work out,” said Sam Sianis.
Feb 7, 2017 | Michigan Avenue, Sam Sianis
“It was a big day,” says Sam. “I come in early that morning and I see two guys in suits just looking around the place.I ask if they need help and they say no so I just do what I always do and then go ti a lunch meeting. I’m there and I get a call and they say Bush is coming. I am shocked and I hurry back and they are all getting ready for the president. When he gets there he eats and sits with me and four regular customers and talks about family and politics. He wants to know the history of Billy Goat and he wants to know about Mike.”
Feb 2, 2017 | Billy Goat Curse, Sam Sianis
From the day the first goat stumbled into the Tavern, the Billy Goat Inn became a circus of animals. There were numerous goats, from beer drinking to dollar bill eating, but mostly beer drinking. An avid animal lover, Billy offered the tavern as their home. A long line of Goats from Billy “the original” to Murphy “The goat curse” have always been a regular staple at the legendary Tavern.
