SNL's "Olympia Restaurant" Was Inspired By a Classic Chicago Tavern. Maybe.
Yes, the classic Season 3 sketch was based on a real place. Which one, however, is a point of debate for the cast and writer.
In the weeks leading up to February 16's three-hour 50th anniversary celebration on NBC, the team behind Saturday Night Live has selected one sketch from every single season — 50 seasons in 50 days — to reflect the show's rich legacy across five decades. Presenting the sketch chosen to represent Season 3: "The Olympia Restaurant: Cheeseburger, Chips, and Pepsi,” starring Host Robert Klein and cast members John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, Garrett Morris, and Gilda Radner.
When it comes to iconic early Saturday Night Live sketches, "The Olympia Restaurant: Cheeseburger, Chips, and Pepsi" ranks up there. Set at a bustling diner where customers can have anything they'd like (so long as it's among the three items actually on offer), the proprietor and cooks played by John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray quickly dispel anyone's notions about ordering something else. Such as, oh, breakfast, or a single beverage that isn't Pepsi.
Starring most of the original cast — minus Chevy Chase, who'd departed halfway through Season 2 — and Host Robert Klein, it quickly made the phrase "cheeseburger, cheeseburger" cultural shorthand.
So much so, in fact, that it inspired an actual namesake burger chain. And another real Chicago institution has claimed to be real-life inspiration for the sketch, inspiring a debate between "Olympia Restaurant" writer Don Novello and stars including Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray.
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Watch the first "Olympia Restaurant" sketch above.
Writer Don Novello says SNL's Olympia Cafe is based on Chicago's Billy Goat Tavern
"Olympia Restaurant: Cheeseburger, Chips, and Pepsi" was the first of five sketches featuring the Olympia Café gang. It premiered on the January 28, 1978, episode with Host Robert Klein and Musical Guest Bonnie Raitt. It was written by Don Novello, a cast member, writer, and two-time Host of the show, best known for his character Father Guido Sarducci.
As for what real-life restaurant inspired SNL's Olympia, Chicago's Billy Goat Tavern proudly lays claim to that honor on their website. Per the lore they share, like many who've worked in downtown Chicago over the decades (including this writer), Don Novello used to eat lunch at Billy Goat during his time as an advertising copywriter there. They even have a photo of Novello paying a visit years later.
Citing the "cheeseburger" chant in the sketch, the site says, "such rantings by the Billy Goat staff have gone on for almost 40 years and originated when [owner Sam Sianis] and another Greek immigrant by the name of Bill Charuchas would entertain patrons by yelling out: 'Try the double cheese! It’s the best! No fries, cheeps!'"
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While the site ads that "John Belushi and Bill Murray knew the Billy Goat from their Second City days" — a claim that's almost certainly true, given that the tavern is so iconic it has seven locations, including two at the city's airports — not everyone involved agrees on the source of The Olympia's inspiration.
Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi say The Olympia was based on a Belushi family diner
John Belushi's brother, Jim Belushi, claims that the Olympia sketch was originally John Belushi's idea (the Not Ready for Prime Time Player died in 1982). He says it was inspired by a Greek diner their dad once owned.
"My father had a restaurant called Olympia Lunch in Logan Square with my uncle Paul," Jim Belushi told Chicago magazine in 2021, adding, "The Olympia Restaurant in my brother John’s sketch came from our dad’s restaurant."
Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray re-litigated the debate during their press tour for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, with Aykroyd echoing Belushi's claim in a CBS Mornings interview. Meanwhile, Chicago area native Murray was on Novello's side of history.
So who is correct? We're not sure, but we do know we're craving a cheeseburger now.
