Calling all pub enthusiasts and goat lovers!
Our very own Silky O’ Sullivan’s was recently recognized by Food Network Magazine for the ‘Most Interesting Drinking Buddies’ in the magazine’s Irish Pub Awards.
For those who have never visited the pub, let me take a moment to catch you up. Silky O’ Sullivan’s is located on Beale Street in Downtown Memphis—operating inside the 100-year-old Gallina Building, which was once a 24-hour saloon. The bar is named after the late Thomas Daniel Sullivan himself who was nicknamed Silky and also known as ‘The Father of Barbecue.”
Today, Silky O’ Sullivan’s is known for their delicious barbecue, their divers, seafood, sandwiches, fully stocked bar, and live music.
Photos by: @letsbetastebuds and @silkyosullivans
More importantly, the establishment is also famous for its goats… aka the ‘most interesting drinking buddies’.
But, why goats?
Their goat-game can be attributed to one the oldest Irish fairs, the Puck Fair, which can be traced back as far as 1613. Legend has it that a goat broke away from its herd, and warned it’s town inhabitants that pillagers were infiltrating their town, Killorglin. Now, ever year, in Killorglin, County Kerry, people fetch a wild goat from a mountain and bring him into town where he is then crowned “King Puck.”
Silky’s wife and pub owner Joellyn Sullivan, along with many others, can attest that everyone loves the goats. And from the looks of it, the goats –Gina and Angelina– love everyone, too.
“With clean water, ‘yummy’ goat food, and never-ending pampering, the goats are living their best lives,” Sullivan said.
Even customers refer to the little ladies as “the two luckiest goats in the whole wide world.”
Now, Gina and Angelina are not the first pals to hang around the beloved bar. Originally, when Silky and Joellyn didn’t know much about goats, they brought in “Killian,” a male goat—and that experience…
Let’s just say they bit off more than they could chew… or smell…
“… Turns out that after a male goat goes through puberty, they have a pheromone that attracts female goats,” Sullivan said. “His body did everything it could to attract a female goat, which means that he got stinkier and stinkier and stinkier.”
She continued by saying, “That was the beginning of our understanding that we needed to have neutered, prepubescent male goats… or girls.”
And for those that are concerned, yes, the goats are approved by the City, County, and State Health Departments!
