Sam Sianis inherited a family legacy of legendary billy goats, but he immortalized the mythological Chicago incantation: cheezborger, cheezborger, cheezborger.
Sianis, who will celebrate his 93rd birthday this December, is not only the next in our Chicago food icon series, he’s also a curse breaker.
The following interview (conducted in Greek with assistance from his son and Billy Goat co-owner and CEO Bill Sianis) has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What is your full name, birth and now?
A: “Sotirios Athanasios Sianis, and now Sam Athanasios Sianis.”
Athanasios was his father’s name, following a traditional Greek naming custom.
Q: When were you born?
A: “Dec. 12, 1934.”
Earlier that year, his father‘s brother, then known as William or Bill, bought Lincoln Tavern at 1855 W. Madison St. across the street from Chicago Stadium. On a summer morning, according to the book “A Chicago Tavern: A Goat, a Curse, and the American Dream” by my esteemed Tribune colleague and columnist Rick Kogan, a baby goat fell off a passing truck on Madison Street. Uncle Bill adopted the kid and renamed his tavern the Billy Goat Inn.
Q: Where were you born?
A: “Palaiopyrgos, Greece.”
Q: What was your first job?
A: “I started helping with the sheep and goats on the farm in Greece when I was 6 or 7 years old.”
Q: When did you come to Chicago?
A: “I came to the United States in 1955 and stayed with my aunt Panagiota and uncle Chris in San Francisco, then came to Chicago in 1960.”
“When I arrived in the United States, I first started working in San Francisco at my uncle Chris’ coffee shop,” said Sianis. “It was called Noriega Coffee Shop as it was on Noriega Street.”
“Shortly after that I started working for the Southern Pacific Railroad.”
“After some time I got the chance to open a drive-in with friends at the time called RJ’s Drive-In. It was a diner-style place where you would park your car, we would have someone come out to take your order, then come back with your food and you ate in your car.
“Then in 1960 my uncle Bill ‘Billy Goat’ Sianis asked me to come help at the tavern in Chicago where I decided to stay.”
The tavern was still at its original location on Madison Street.
Q: What is your business’ full name?
A: “Billy Goat Tavern & Grill.”
They moved to Lower Michigan Avenue, where there was finally room for a grill, and opened on March 4, 1964. There are now seven locations around Chicago, including the oldest, which they call The Original.
Q: What is your business title?
A: “Owner.”
William “Billy Goat” Sianis died at 76 in 1970. He did not have children of his own. Uncle Bill left the tavern to his nephew Sam, who by then had worked there for a decade.
Sam Sianis married Irene Dariotis on Dec. 2, 1973. They had six children: Bill, Tom, Paul, Ted, Patty and Jenny.
Q: What is your bestselling or signature item?
A: “Cheezborger! Cheezborger! The double Cheezborger is the bestselling item.”
The double cheeseburger includes two patties (thinner style, 2 ounces or so each of 85% lean beef) seared fast on a hot griddle, with American cheese on a kaiser roll. You top it yourself, traditionally with pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard. There’s also relish (not neon green) on the topping bar, plus salt and pepper (most importantly to me).
Q: What is your most memorable moment?
A: “My most cherished moments were working alongside my uncle Billy Goat. Helping him at the store and at home. Learning to have a hard work ethic and how to entertain customers. Then later, I was teaching my children how to work the same way I was taught.”
“My most memorable moments were many,” said Sianis.
“Mike Royko, who was like a brother to me,” he said. “We first met in 1964. All the fun stories and events we had together throughout the years.”
“In 1979, customers and reporters telling me that there’s a show called ‘Saturday Night Live’ making fun of you on TV,” he said. “After watching for a few weeks in a row, I finally saw the skit and it made me laugh. They were doing what I do at the restaurant yelling Cheezborger! Cheezborger! Cheezborger! No Fries — CHEEPS! No Pepsi — COKE!”
“Taking the goat Socrates to Wrigley Field on opening day in 1984 to help lift the curse,” said Sianis. “GM Dallas Green and the new owners of the Chicago Tribune invited me to walk the goat in Wrigley Field to help lift the curse my uncle put on the Cubs in 1945. After walking the goat in 1984, the Cubs made the playoffs for the first time since 1945.”
“President George H.W. Bush coming to have lunch at the Billy Goat in 1991,” said Sianis about another memorable moment. “I saw a couple guys dressed in suits around 8 a.m. looking around the place and I asked them if I can help with anything. They said they were just looking. Later that morning, I had gone to a gathering in Greektown and one of the waiters said I had a phone call. When I answered the phone, it was my manager and he said to come to the store now, because the president is on his way for lunch.
“I left right away, and when I got to Billy Goat, I saw all the photographers and reporters in the place waiting for President Bush. I also saw the two guys in suits and asked them why they didn’t tell me this morning. The place was full of the lunch crowd, who were asked to stay if they wanted, but once you left, you couldn’t come back in. President Bush arrived and sat at a table with me and another three or four customers. He had two double Cheezborgers. He sat and talked to different people for about two hours.”
Seventeen years and another President Bush later, the Billy Goat fueled a new generation of hope with a secret Obama burger. Campaign staffers working late into the night created a custom a double Cheezborger with bacon, egg and grilled onions for breakfast, lunch, and late night dinner in a bun
Q: As a Chicago food icon, what are a few words of wisdom you could share with the next generation?
A: “I learned from my uncle Billy Goat to work hard and always treat the customer like they are your guest. When they come to Billy Goat, they chose to come to your place, where they could have gone anywhere else. Respect that and try to do the best you can to meet their needs. I always choose the best quality product for my burgers and the best service I can give.”
Sianis would like to be at the Goat every day. As he shouted to me in 2020, “When I’m at the Billy Goat, I feel better!” But he no longer drives, instead relying on rides from his adult children. You may find him on weekends after church, possibly while whispering your own sacred Chicago-style chant: cheeseborger, cheeseborger, cheeseborger.
Billy Goat Tavern & Grill (The Original), 430 N. Lower Michigan Ave., 312-222-1525, billygoattavern.com
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