The History of Hilltop Steakhouse
If you grew up on the North Shore of Massachusetts you had a few nice steak dinners at Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus. Back in 1961, before it was ever the Route 1 Grill House, a 43 year-old-butcher named Frank Giuffrida from Lawrence bought the space for $7,000 and converted it to a 125-seat steak house.
It quickly became a hot spot in town, drawing large crowds and having a waitlist every night of the week. An expansion was in order and they soon upgraded to a 400 seat establishment. A third expansion later brought the restaurant’s capacity up to 1,500 seats and Frank returned to his roots by also adding a butcher shop at the rear of the restaurant.
The Hilltop Steakhouse’s Claim to fame
Every steak house needs a gimmick to set it apart from the rest. For Hilltop Steakhouse a big part of their appeal was their unique choices of decor including a 68-foot-high neon cactus and full-sized plastic cows. The style has been described as “old ranch modern” with wooden Indians, stone fireplaces, buffalo heads, the works!
The restaurant featured five dining rooms and a cocktail lounge named after cities in the Wild west.
The Five Dining Rooms
- Dodge City
- Kansas City
- Sioux City
- Santa Fe
- Carson City
Iconic Menu items
Folks are still salivating over their Lobster Pot Pie, Filet Mignon, and the Hilltop House Dressing on the Salad was apparently to die for.
Notice the text on the very top of the menu? Until the 1990s the restaurant did not take reservations or accept credit cards…