Billy Goat gets Mount Prospect liquor license

The Mount Prospect village board granted a liquor license this week to the Billy Goat Tavern & Grill, the Chicago-based chain of restaurants planning a new location at Randhurst Village this summer.

Trustees approved the license in a unanimous vote during a meeting attended by restaurant owner Sam Sianis and his son, Bill Sianis. The family hopes to open the Randhurst location at the end of July, Bill Sianis said.

The restaurant has been family owned since it first opened across from the Chicago Stadium in 1934. Today it has nine locations, including eight in the Chicago area, and two new openings are planned in Mount Prospect and Aurora.

Sam Sianis took time to share with village board members a few stories about the Billy Goat’s well-known history. Don Novello, who wrote the ‘cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger’ skit, was a frequent customer before working on “Saturday Night Live,” and John Belushi and Bill Murray were also familiar with the restaurant from working in Chicago with Second City. More than 30 years later, the skit and the restaurant are still famous.

Sam also told the infamous ‘Billy Goat Curse’ story, explaining how his uncle’s goat was denied entrance to a Chicago Cubs game in 1945. Consequently, his uncle cursed the then-successful team. Bill said family members today are both Cubs and Sox fans, always cheering for all Chicago teams.

Mayor Pro Tem Steven Polit welcomed them to Mount Prospect and expressed excitement for opening day.