goat Origins

We often get asked about where the name comes from, and we always enjoy embellishing the story a little bit. The “honest to Goat’s truth” is that Sven and I had been struggling, almost to the point of fighting, to find a name for the shop. We had always dreamed of one day owning a shop, but had no idea that it would be so hard to find a name that we’d both be happy with. The list of sub-par suggestions was terrible, and it was long, and not one inspiring enough for us to be able to agree upon it. In fact, it got so bad at one point, that we kind of walked away from the project…….let’s call it creative differences. During the “naming the shop hiatus”, we continued the hope that one day that the pieces would fall into place, and that perhaps it was better not to really force things into being. While visiting relatives in Door County, Wisconsin, a quick drive to Sister Bay was about to change our lives. If you’ve ever been to Sister Bay, then you are probably familiar with Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant. They’ve been drawing onlookers to their restaurant by having live goats grazing on their grass roof for decades. It sparked a name……Billy Goat Bicycle Company. With youthful memories of watching the goats in Door County, as well as remembering goat filled hiking adventures in Switzerland with our Grandparents, we knew we had found a name that was fun, and also very close to our hearts.