About the Company

The Billy Goat Tavern is a chain of taverns located in Chicago, Illinois. Its restaurants are based on the original Billy Goat Tavern founded in 1934 by Billy Sianis, a Greek immigrant. It achieved fame primarily through newspaper columns by Mike Royko, a supposed curse on the Chicago Cubs, and the Olympia Cafe sketch on Saturday Night Live. The tavern has nine locations with seven in Chicago, including the oldest extant location on Lower Michigan Avenue, Navy Pier, the Merchandise Mart, O'Hare Airport, Midway Airport, on Lake Street (1/2 block west of Michigan Avenue), and in the West Loop on Madison Street (near the United Center); and one location in the suburban Yorktown Mall in Lombard, Illinois. They expanded to Washington, D.C. in 2005, the first location outside the Chicago metropolitan area; it is intended to appeal primarily to Chicago transplants, as well as students from the Georgetown University Law Center located across the street.

Last updated: October 14, 2019

Expansion Plans