'Cheezborger' Legend Behind Chicago's Billy Goat Tavern Dies at 91

Sam Sianis helped preserve the Billy Goat Tavern’s place in Chicago culture, immortalized by "Saturday Night Live."

By Eric DeGrechie, Patch Staff

May 15, 2026 4:50 pm CDT | Updated May 15, 2026 5:44 pm CDT

In this Oct. 20, 2015, file photo, Billy Goat Tavern owners Sam Sianis, left, and his son Bill pose with "Billy" the goat outside their tavern on Madison Street in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty File)

CHICAGO — Sam Sianis, the longtime owner of the historic Billy Goat Tavern, has died at the age of 91. According to the restaurant, made forever famous by "Saturday Night Live," he passed away Friday morning surrounded by family.

"Sam was more than a restaurateur; he was a Chicago legend," Billy Goat Tavern said on social media announcing his death. "His tireless work ethic, devotion to his beloved Tavern, and deep love for this city made him a cultural icon and an inspiration to all who knew him."

Sianis was born in 1934— the same year his father, William "Billy Goat" Sianis opened the original restaurant on Madison Street — across the street from the old Chicago Stadium in the city's Near West Side neighborhood. In 1964, it moved to its current underground spot at 430 N. Michigan Ave., beneath Michigan Avenue near Tribune Tower.

Already well-known and established in the city, the no-frills restaurant gained national fame when "Saturday Night Live" began airing sketches inspired by it in 1978, according to the restaurant's webpage. By that time, Sam Sianis was running the business following his father's death eight years earlier.

John Belushi, an original SNL cast member and Chicago area native, used his experiences at the Billy Goat Tavern to inspire the creation of "The Olympia Cafe" sketches. Other early SNL cast members and writers, including Wilmette native Bill Murray, who also appeared in the sketches, had frequented the restaurant over the years.

In the sketches, Belushi played a loud, mustachioed counterman barking orders at confused customers like the iconic line, "Cheezborger! Cheezborger! No Pepsi — Coke!," which was repeated over and over again throughout the skit.

When the sketch became more and more popular, so did the restaurant, as did Sam Sianis, who will forever be associated with both.

"Above all, he was a devoted family man and a cherished friend to countless people whose lives he touched," the post by Billy Goat Tavern continues. "Loved by many, he will be deeply missed. May his memory be eternal."