Last updated on November 27, 2022
88 years ago, a Greek immigrant bought the Lincoln Tavern at 1855 W. Madison, across from the Chicago Stadium, with bounced checks. He paid back the debt. One day, the owner came across a goat that fell off a livestock truck. The bar became Billy Goat Tavern, and a legend was born.
The immigrant was William “Billy Goat” Sianis. In 1964, he moved his bar to the underground Michigan Avenue, surrounded by the Chicago newspapers. He added a grill. Billy Goat Tavern and Grill became a newspaper hangout. It also became the best saloon in Chicago. As far as bars go, it is the GOAT.
When I was 18 years old, they changed the law to let us drink beer and wine. Billy Goat’s was where we went to when I was in college. It was inexpensive, and we could brag we drank downtown. The legal change did not last long. Too many suburban kids were getting injured or killed in traffic crashes. Suburbanites are notorious for ruining things for the rest of us.
When a college friend was getting married, he wanted to have his bachelor party at the Goat. When we showed up, they put the tables together for us. Other than that, it was the same as before. Just guys drinking, eating, and having a good time.
Later, shortly after I became a Chicago Police officer, I went there. As I sat at the bar, the bartender put an Old Style in front of me. I gave him a look. He smiled and said, “I always remember my college guys.” We talked, I told him what I did. He told me Mike Royko and Studs Terkel were at the end of the bar. He introduced me to them. We had pleasant conversations while getting tipsy. I wound up taking a long, expensive cab ride home.
One thing that makes Billy Goat Tavern and Grill a Chicago icon is consistency. Even with the remodel, the environment has not changed. The food is still good, and they serve one of the best classic no-frills burgers in Chicago. Even Julia Child sang the burger’s praises when she visited the Goat. No matter which one of their outlets you visit, the food is always the same, and the prices are reasonable.
I still go there now and then when I am downtown. I was there for the last game of the 2016 World Series. The Goat was packed with people and reporters from all over the world. I sat at the bar with two reporters. One was from Australia, and the other was from New Zealand. Sam Sianis, the owner, brought the goat out. I tried to explain to the two reporters about the curse of the goat. They were not interested. Other locals tried to get them interested, but they did not get it.
I wanted to attend the Cubs home opener last season, but the weather prediction was chilly to cold and windy. We went to the Goat instead. It was crowded with like-minded people and just as good as being at Wrigley.
Legacy newsman Rick Kogan wrote “A Chicago Tavern: A Goat, a Curse, and the American Dream,” about the iconic saloon. It remains one of the best books written about a Chicago saloon.
Chicago old-school saloons were and are still social focal points. Many of the iconic places are gone, replaced by themed bars. Fake dive and “old man bars” (Whatever the f**k that means), or worse, phony “speakeasies” that infantile publishers like Chicago Magazine and Time Out Chicago heavily promote. The writers at these comic rags do not know their asses from a hole in the ground, yet they continually lie to the public about these horrid fake places that serve overpriced booze, beer, and crappy expensive food to gullible young oh so precious people looking for an “experience. It is all lies, AKA fake news.
While Billy Goat Tavern and Grill is the GOAT because of its 88-year history and consistency, there are still some good saloons left in this city. They do not get the publicity that the precious fake-themed bars get, nor do they want it. We who are habitues of these places like it that way. We do not need a bunch of precious people pretending they are slumming. Worse, if they annoyed one of us and we told them to go f**k their mothers, they would probably break out in tears, call the cops, and go on social media or Yelp to vent their social grievances while demanding justice. PRECIOUS FEELINGS MATTER!
Congrats to the Sianis family for providing 88 years of honest drinks, good food, entertainment, and good cheer. May they survive another 88 years.