Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey Durgin-Park | Boston, MA He would also later own three other New England classics: the Cape Codder Resort and Residences in Hyannis, the Dan’l Webster Inn in Sandwich, and the John Carver Inn in Plymouth.Īmong the most famous of now-closed New England restaurants is Durgin-Park, a Faneuil Hall favorite for nearly two centuries before it shuttered in 2019. He repackaged it as the Hearth ‘n Kettle and eventually expanding that brand to five Cape Cod locations. Catania opened his first restaurant in 1963 (belying the menu’s claim of “famous since 1831”), but 10 years later he had sold all the locations except the one in Falmouth. Pewter Pot Muffin House did not have a long run. The walls featured murals of a traveling muffin man making his rounds. The interior of most locations had an old-Boston feel, with heavy wooden tables and dark-beamed ceilings. (Its clam chowder recipe continues to circulate online, still in demand after all these years). The Pewter Pot was also known for good coffee - served in pewter pots - and hearty chowders, sandwiches, and breakfast foods. The lure? Muffins, of course - from standard varieties like blueberry and coffee cake to unusual creations like almond tea and fruit cocktail (there were even “mystery muffins” for daring diners.) At its early-1970s zenith, Pewter Pot Muffin Houses could be found from Harvard Square to Cape Cod, about 40 of them in all. This Boston-based chain was the creation of Cambridge native V.J. The downturn in public favor that doomed the new locations eventually caught up with the original as well, and in 2013, the Saugus Hilltop Steak House served its last meal and joined the ranks of now-closed New England restaurants. There was a push to open Hilltop locations across New England, but tastes were changing, and the auxiliary restaurants never quite succeeded in capturing the appeal of the original. But by then the end was in sight: Giuffrida had sold the business the previous year, and it did not fare well under later owners. In 1989, Hilltop grossed $60 million, serving more than 2 million hungry diners. Despite the restaurant’s impressive size (at 20,000 square feet, it could accommodate up to 1,400 patrons), the porches were often lined with customers waiting to get in. Hilltop Steak House was founded in 1961 by a butcher named Frank Giuffrida, and it was popular from the start. In its prime, Hilltop Steakhouse was regularly listed among the busiest restaurants in the world. And the profits? They were biggest of all. The rooms were big, the drinks were big, and the food was big (the standard-size sirloin was 18 ounces, but much larger cuts were available as well). Dining rooms were named after places like Kansas City, Dodge City, and Sioux City. There were “Wanted” posters and bull horns on the walls. There was no mistaking the type of experience that awaited after you drove past a pasture of fiberglass cows and turned in at the 68-foot-tall cactus sign. From the Chinese palace Weylu’s to the giant (and rather unhappy-looking) bull at Full of Bull Roast Beef, restaurants and other attractions - including a mini-golf course that featured a 50-foot-tall orange dinosaur - competed for attention as vigorously as reality show contestants.īut even among those eye-catching neighbors, Hilltop Steak House stood out. In the early decades of the car boom, Route 1 in Saugus, Massachusetts, was a bastion of kitschy restaurants, each of which wore its theme proudly and worked to out-do the others. Photo Credit : John Margolies/Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division Hilltop Steak House | Saugus, MA But we never let go of our past loves, so let’s step into the wayback machine and revisit a few of the now-closed New England restaurants that live on in our memory.ħ Lost & Gone (But Not Forgotten) New England Restaurants Everything about Hilltop Steak House in Saugus, MA, was as over-the-top as its sign. We are lucky enough to still have many wonderful eateries from which to choose, from Kelly’s Roast Beef to Louis’ Lunch, and we appreciate them all. Here in New England, we develop pretty strong attachments to the places that serve us what, and how, we like best … and boy, do we miss them when they’re gone.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |