The Blind Pig Saloon, an upscale American bar
Featuring two full service bars, great food, live music, dancing and billiards lounge.
The term blind pig (or blind tiger) originated in the United States in the 1800s; it was applied to establishments that sold alcoholic beverages illegally. The operator of an establishment (such as a saloon or bar) would charge customers to see an attraction (such as an animal) and then serve a “complimentary” alcoholic beverage, thus circumventing the law.
“In desperate cases it has to betake itself to the exhibition of Greenland pigs and other curious animals, charging 25 cents for a sight of the pig and throwing in a gin cocktail gratuitously.”[2]
The difference between a speakeasy and a blind pig was that a speakeasy was usually a higher-class establishment that offered food, music, or entertainment, or even all three. In large cities, some speakeasies even required a coat and tie for men, and evening dress for women. But a blind pig was usually a low-class dive where only beer and liquor were offered.
Estimates of the number of blind pigs in some major American cities in the mid-1920s are:[citation needed]
Chicago, Illinois: 10,000
Detroit, Michigan: 15,000
New York City, New York: 30,000-100,000
