That ‘marvelous burger place’: 84 years of Tribune coverage of the Billy Goat Tavern
CHICAGO — After digging into the Billy Goat Tavern’s new bun and realizing that the storied bar changed a lot more often than I thought, I wondered what else was buried in the Tribune archives.
In two words: a lot.
It shouldn’t be too surprising that a bar commonly known for being the official hangout of journalists would be mentioned frequently. But it’s also clear that even if the bar were located 5 miles from downtown, it still would have shown up in the paper. That’s primarily thanks to the original owner, William Sianis.
The first mention came June 19, 1938, four years after Sianis purchased the Lincoln Tavern at 1855 W. Madison St., across from the old Chicago Stadium (which was replaced in 1995 by the United Center). As the article explains, within the first year of opening, Sianis renamed the bar the Billy Goat Tavern after a goat fell off a truck and wandered into the bar: “Billy — that’s the goat — brought good luck to Mr. Sianis because business improved at his restaurant when the goat was put on the floor show. Mr. Sianis grew a set of whiskers just like Billy’s so Billy would feel at home.”
The article also mentions that Sianis’
