The Hunt for the Golden Bulls will start on March 1, 2024.

Follow us on social Media for the most up to date information and clues.

Hello Golden Bull Hunters! Are you ready for the 2024 Hunt? We have all new riddles, puzzles, history, and locations for you to solve. We have worked to create puzzles of varying difficulty and want to give everyone a chance to feel they can win free burgers for a year.* Here are some key tips, and pointers as you get ready for the 2024 hunt.

As big fans of Willy Wonka, the original movie with Gene Wilder, we thought we’d have our own golden tickets, err bulls that is.  We hide five golden bulls (okay they are brass, we couldn’t afford solid gold) at different times throughout the month in and around Durham. Five lucky winners who found a bull, win a free meal each week for a year*.  How do you find a bull?Throughout March, we reveal clues here on our website and in social media regarding where to find a Golden Bull.  If you find one, follow the directions below to claim your prize.  Full details in the “fine print” below.  Let the hunt begin!

Ground Rules for the Hunt: Please do not destroy any personal property.  No bull will be hidden in a location which requires going inside a non-public space.  No bull will be buried or sealed inside anything.  Nothing will need to be damaged, broken, taken apart, busted, cracked, or dismantled.  The bull will always be accessible 24/7 once it is hidden. Please respect any and all people, businesses, or property while you search.  Thank you and good luck! Teams are welcome, but there can only be one winner on the team.

Because we want everyone to have an opportunity to hunt for at least one Golden Bull, we pick different types of riddles with different days and dates to be inclusive of as many hunters as possible. With that in mind, here is some information to help you plan and strategize.

*****Also, and WE CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH***** there are no known photos of the Golden Bull. It is essential to keep it this way! Therefore, no photos or social postings of any kind will be accepted. Breaking this rule will be grounds for immediate disqualification and a lifetime ban on future Golden Bull Hunts.


​I found a Golden Bull, What do I do?
  1. call BCBB and talk to a manager (919) 680-2333
  2. arrange a time to bring in your golden bull and claim victory
  3. bring your photo ID and be ready for a photo to go on the wall
  4. within 24 hours email a description of how you found the bull (moocow[at]bullcityburgerandbrewery[dot]com)
  5. please do not send a photo of the bull or take photos of you with the bull. You may be disqualified if you take or post any photos of the bull.
*The contest begins March 1st and ends when all bulls are found. The first free burger day for winners is April 1st or the first day in April BCBB is open. The last day of free burgers is March 31 the following year. Must be 18 years or older to claim a prize. IDs will be checked. Bring your ID. One Golden Bull winner per person and per family. If you find a Golden Bull redeem it in person at Bull City Burger and Brewery during regular business hours. Please call us to let us know you are coming in at 919-680-2333. Winners receive one hamburger or veggie burger per week with one specialty add-on topping, one regular dirty fry order and one non-alcohol beverage of choice. No substitutions for specialty burgers or special features. Can’t be used toward a specialty burger. No alcohol included. A week is defined as any hours BCBB is open for business Sunday through Saturday. BCBB cannot be held accountable for acts of God, weather, and business interruptions during any week. Only one free burger meal can be claimed per week. Cannot be used online.  Multiple burgers cannot be saved up for redemption in one week. Only the person claiming the Golden Bull can receive the free burger each week. No family members, spouses, former spouses, children, cousins (kissing or otherwise) can claim your prize. Winners consent to the use of their names and photos or likeness by BCBB to promote the contest on the website, in the restaurant and in print. Again, we will check your ID. No employee of BCBB or Pompieri Pizza or Pie Pan Inc. can win. No employee of a business we partner with for the Golden Bull can win. One winner per family please. No repeat winners. No scammers, no loophole finders, no twisters of the rules. It’s free burgers for about a year, that’s pretty good. That’s our fine print.
“I, the undersigned, shall forfeit all rights, privileges, and licenses herein and herein contained, et cetera, et cetera... Fax mentis incendium gloria cultum, et cetera, et cetera... Memo bis punitor delicatum!” - Willy Wonka
Bull #1 - Released on March 1, 2024
Only one clue for Hunt #1 - bring us the bull!

https://connections.swellgarfo.com/game/-NrqSJl4UqprPY4hUrL2
Found: Friday March 1 by Patrick F.    ~     Congratulations Patrick!
How I found the Gold Bull By Patrick F.

As soon as I refreshed the Golden Bulls page and clicked the link for the first clue, I was elated. Those who know me know that I have somewhat of an obsession with New York Times Games. The Crossword, Crossword Mini, Wordle, Vertex, Spelling Bee, and of course Connections are part of my routine every day. The first two words that caught my eye were ‘neat’ and ‘straight’; from there, it didn’t take long to put together that “Bar” was the first group of words. Seeing ‘Boil’ and ‘Mash’ had me looking for ‘Stew’ at first, but some previous experiences told me that those were two integral parts of brewing beer! Discovering the second group as “Brewery” came soon after.  From the remaining clues, it was quick to find “BBQ” and “Pottery” as the third and fourth groups. That meant that the four categories were “Bar,” “Brewery,” “BBQ,” and “Pottery.”
 
From there, I started racking my brain (no pun intended) for barbecue joints around town, and what they might have in common with the other categories. Quickly, it hit me: Mike D’s BBQ shares a courtyard with Congress Bar and Proximity Brewing! I was a little unfamiliar on the ‘Pottery’ side of things, but a quick check of Google Maps told me that Claymakers was right next door. With a little teamwork (and a girlfriend that gets luckier with traffic and stoplights than I do), we made our way to the courtyard and found our little horned friend tucked away with the pots/vases and foliage.
 
After a few very near misses last year, it’s great to close the deal this time! Looking forward to solving more clues and keeping the game alive in the future.
Bull #2 - Hunt begins on Thursday, March 7, 2024
Found: Saturday, March 29 by Micaela B.    ~     Congratulations Micaela!
​"After near misses on almost every hunt in 2023 and 2024 so far, my partner and I were determined to find this one! Finding the elusive Golden Bull #2 felt right as we had originally woken up at 4:30am to stake out its first hiding spot in ATC a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, after several hours of hunting in the rain, we headed home and later learned that the bull hidden at Ekhaya had been kidnapped! Cut to a few weeks later, the captive bull finally broadcasted a message and we got to work immediately; my partner left work to search as I scoured Google Maps while in class at UNC (this was far more important). Keeping the faith, I went downtown to join him in the hunt as soon as I could. Between the both of us, we searched in the Golden Belt, West End, Lakewood, and other areas to no avail. Certain that the bull had crossed the train tracks on Corcoran St, passed a wedding venue (21C?), and ended on a quiet road near a fire station, a park, a bakery, and perhaps a craft store, we landed on Orange Street as the most viable location. But by the evening we’d still found no signs of the bull, even after checking out the upstairs lobby of one of our favorite new bars, Velvet Hippo. By the next morning, no find had been confirmed, and we were thrilled when the bull sent out a follow-up message confirming that our suspicions were right! With the words ESCAPE and STAIRS capitalized, plus the idea that the “bell” sound was an elevator bell, we knew we were on the right track with the Orange Street building lobby (also home to NC Escape–a place we are quite familiar with as avid Escape Room players). We raced there to see a few hunters already on the scent, and I decided to check every nook and cranny I could find in the lobby. Adrenaline buzzed through me when I finally spotted a bag tied between the wooden handrail and the wall atop the first set of stairs. The 2nd Golden Bull is free at last!"
Bull #3 - Hunt begins on Saturday, March 16, 2024
Found: Saturday, March 16 by Beth O.    ~     Congratulations Beth!
How I found Golden Bull #3:

I stumbled on a clue at Cheeni on my way to BCBB a little before noon. I shared it in our group chat and immediately Brett thought it was Cucciolo. I didn’t go there right away because I was distracted by fellow bull hunters. They had Bullpen cups and were headed north so I detoured to Corpse Reviver to no avail. I met up with my kid to regroup and we scoured the names of places in the Bullpen. There were a lot. We split up and I hopped on my bike going west on Main. I saw the clue at Cucciolo and had no idea what it meant but hoped our group would figure it out. Got back on the bike and followed a guy jogging that looked like a potential bull hunter. He led me to Fonda Lupita. They weren’t on the Bullpen list but the sheer number of people there was telling. I looked behind one of the big black shutters and pulled out a bull. Our family has been following this amazing hunt for over ten years so I was thrilled to finally find it.
Bull #4 - Hunt begins on Saturday, March 23, 2024
This hunt features images generated by AI technology using prompts from our puzzle team. There will be 6 images provided over the next hour to help guide you to the Golden Bull's current hiding place. Bring home that bull!
Found: Saturday, March 23 by Katie B.    ~     Congratulations Katie!
How I found Golden Bull #4:

​I planned my whole day around Bull Hunting and when the first clue came out I was ready to go. I actually work at a tech company so hoped an AI-generated hunt would be just the cross-section of life i needed to finally bring home a Bull. I have only lived in Durham for a few years(3 as a student years ago) and this was my second year of Bull Hunting, but i have been fully committed to doing whatever it takes to bring one home having come up a few minutes too slow earlier this hunting season. 

The first clue was challenging and I tried to come up with prompts that would generate the image-sun? Pets? Food? Music? But so many places in Durham could have checked those boxes. Then the second clue was a total 180- math? a protractor? High School math made me remember that you measure angles with a protractor, and a quick Google search pulled up Thaiangle, which had gone into the space where Dos Perros had been.

As I put this together the third clue solidified it- the pizza and fire truck I knew had to refer to Pompieri, which was next to Thaiangle (I was also hit with a wave of sadness missing their pizza). My husband and I jumped into the car and he dropped me off- I was the first hunter there, and after about 10 minutes I spotted a bit of gold in the corner of the outdoor roof area. 
​
Sweet juicy burger glory here I come!
Bull #5 - Hunt begins in person at Bull City Solera and Taproom at 1pm on Saturday, March 30, 2024.
Found: Saturday, March 30 by Nathan M.    ~     Congratulations Nathan!
​Our family was having a nice little weekend, some yard work, friends' parties, and plans to take our boat out for the first wakesurfing of the season. My daughter, Elizabeth, requested Bull City Solera for lunch because of the delicious quesadillas and fried to order chips and salsa. While she and my wife, Amanda, waited for their orders, a staff member asked them if they were there for the Golden Bull Hunt. They said they weren’t and then reconsidered. They quickly called me and my son, James, to join them. 
​
Amanda and I had been aware of the Golden Bull hunts since the very first one and I have vague memories of feeling like I’d been minutes late to finding one of the first Golden Bulls in the Hat/Coat statute on Corcoran/Parrish. 

Once the hunt began, Amanda and Elizabeth quickly found and collected plastic Easter eggs with small pieces of paper that when assembled formed a map, as Elizabeth quickly identified, overlaid on the Durham flag. As longtime Durham residents, Amanda and I immediately recognized a ‘Five Points’ intersection so we hopped in the car. Upon closer inspection, the map resembled the ‘Old Five Points’ neighborhood and showed the location of the Bull. We arrived and walked into the barbershop in the corner and asked, “Does anyone have a clue?” and were met by 20-30 confused, smiling barbers and patrons. James urged us to walk a little further to the Night School bar closely followed by another family on the hunt (shout out to Camden and family) and there it was. While I’ll be claiming the reward, it was a family effort and we’ll all enjoy Bull City’s yummy burgers, fries, and drinks this year and beyond. And another generation of Golden Bull hunters has been born! Look out for my kids on the trail in the future.