William “Bill” Weiss, who owned Cigarz Bona Pizza and The Goat, has died.
Weiss died Wednesday, June 8, Cigarz announced on its Facebook page.
The Goat has been an East Dallas watering hole for decades, and we wrote a story about it in 2020.
Lota Dunham bought the bar, which was originally called the Office Club, in the 1970s. Dunham apparently was a fan of Pontiac GTOs, often called “the goat,” and wanted to put a GTO on top of the bar. That didn’t work, so she went with a goat as the bar’s mascot, and the bar was renamed Lota’s Goat during the 1980s and 1990s.
Eventually Sandy and Bill Weiss took ownership, and they renamed the bar The Goat in 2004.
The Goat is right next door to Cigarz Pizza on Gaston Avenue, and neighbors sometimes order a pizza from there and eat it at the bar. Cigarz was founded in the early 2000s by Sadie Ayers and Omar Dibe; they named the restaurant after their dog.
Cigarz is closed today and tomorrow, June 10.