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How Hilltop Steak House would draw 3 million guests a year

Restaurant Rewind: The 1,500-seat, $30 million-a-year landmark may have been the restaurant industry’s greatest value story.

For roughly 15 years, no other restaurant in the country could match the sales volumes of Hilltop Steak House, a kitschy mega-restaurant perched atop a hill outside Boston. It wasn’t unusual for the local favorite’s annual revenues to top $25 million, even surpassing $30 million for at least one year.

Even more amazing was how the place did it. Though Hilltop specialized in doormat-sized steaks, its prices were a bargain. Its superpower was providing the sort of value that kept customers lining up, waiting to hear their name called for a table in one of the establishment’s five dining rooms.

Not familiar with the story of how a local butcher turned a small local joint into a money mill that somehow defied duplication? Join us as we look back at an operation that has largely been forgotten since its closing in 2013.

Our bet is it’s worth remembering. But see for yourself.

 

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