# The Hilltop is Closing!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 12, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082 "2013-10-12T18:44:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082/21 "2013-10-17T12:23:32Z")
Yeah, it’s no surprise they’re not going to stock up & staff up for their final week in business. Ah well, I’d guess the cooks who will be out of work in a few days probably aren’t giving it their all anyway. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082/22 "2013-10-18T02:42:39Z")
Tried to eat there just after work today. There were circa 200 people with numbers in front of us, and a 3 - 3.5 hour wait. we went down the street and ate at the restaurant that was formerly next door to The Hilltop. We took our pictures in front of the fiberglas cows first, though. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082/23 "2013-10-18T12:42:29Z")
Did they reopen the front hallway bar? But yeesh, 15 years ago, 200 people would have been a 30-45 minute wait, not 3 hours. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082/24 "2013-10-18T22:59:56Z")
People are acting like jerks, apparetly: > [@](#): > > AP) — Police say some fans of the soon-to-close Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus are stealing mementoes of the famous restaurant. > > Lt. Ronald Giorgetti said since ownership announced that the 52-year-old restaurant would close Sunday, plates with the eatery’s logo, leather-bound menus and even antique pots worth $600 each have disappeared, likely lifted by nostalgic diners. > > Some of the items are showing up for sale on e-Bay. > > Giorgetti tells The Daily Item police hope to use the Internet auction site to track down the person or persons responsible for the alleged thefts. > > The Hilltop on Route 1 in Saugus was once one of the busiest restaurants in the nation, known for its giant neon cactus and fiberglass cows outside, and its numerous dining rooms named after western cities. [http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/saugus/2013/10/okay\_who\_is\_stealing\_the\_hilltop\_steakhouse\_momentoes.html](http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/saugus/2013/10/okay_who_is_stealing_the_hilltop_steakhouse_momentoes.html) They had a bar open there yesterday, but not “in the front”. People were sitting where the bar had been, texting. ---
**Author:** ![Silence\_Lenore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Silence\_Lenore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silence_Lenore)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082/25 "2013-10-19T16:34:15Z")
My family ate there a couple of times in the late '70s when I was a teenager. I remember waiting outside & the cows, but I don’t remember the food. The one in Nashua didn’t last long. We never ate at that one, we would go to the Greenridge Turkey Farm Restaurant instead. Same banquet hall type place, long lines on weekends, no plastic turkeys outside though! That place is long gone too. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082/26 "2013-10-25T01:01:07Z")
I drove by yesterday and all the cows were gone. It looked like it had been shut for months, not just days. It was creepy and weird. ---
**Author:** ![Tupug\_Anachi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tupug\_Anachi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tupug_Anachi)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082/27 "2013-10-25T15:27:30Z")
Aw, had some great meals there back in the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082/28 "2013-10-26T18:17:01Z")
> [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > I drove by yesterday and all the cows were gone. It looked like it had been shut for months, not just days. It was creepy and weird. They did that to prevent people from stealing them. I understand that just about everything that hasn’t been stolen is going up for auction soon. it’s weird to see the giant cactus not lit up at night. Oddly, some of the other signs are still lit, including the one for the Hilltop Butcher Shop 9which was closed long before the restaurant). The “Thanks for 52 wonderful years” sign on the message board is still up. And they still have some internal lights on, but with the cactus out and the lot empty it looks strange. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082/29 "2013-10-28T02:06:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > it’s weird to see the giant cactus not lit up at night. I thought it was creepy at noon, but it was MUCH creepier driving by at night tonight. Weird is the only word for it, not seeing it lit up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hilltop-is-closing/671082.md?page=1)