Had you possessed a grandmother like mine, (and perhaps you were fortunate enough), you would have frequently heard about the Hilltop House restaurant–a place I had never visited, only envisioned. For instance when we rounded the hill on Dodge crossing over 49th, my grandmother would exclaim, “Oh the Hilltop House…” It was said in a cherished way, almost to herself. Or it might have come up in a discussion between my mother and grandmother when talking about ladies’ luncheons. Or ladies who luncheon. This was the spot. I was told that it had delicious food and a great interior chock full of antiques and New England finery. If you were like me, you would have loved to have heard about the Hilltop House over and over and imagined it too–because that was the beginning of imagining becoming a lady who lunches. Someone I never did become.
I felt terribly cheated having missed out on Hilltop House, not the lady who lunches bit. These stories I found riveting and wanted to take in as much as I could. I could see the bygone era– sleek, burnished-haired men with professionally polished shoes. Impeccable. The sound of dress shoes has finally faded away. The elegantly coiffed hair of older women adorned with lengthy necklaces, conversing at corner tables, their preferred tables. Cigarettes. This venue for sophisticated luncheons, including one of the most diverse menus in the area, would enjoy decades of popularity in Omaha. It all disappeared before I was old enough.
It was unexpected to discover that Hilltop House was an American radio soap opera. It premiered on November 1, 1937, was succeeded by a spinoff, subsequently re-launched twice. Their popular program was known to announce, “Hilltop House is dedicated to the women of America…” In learning of its potential namesake or very likely its inspiration, it made even more sense that the ladies of Omaha were attracted to this renowned restaurant. Their own Hilltop House.
I cannot remember seeing the Hilltop House sign. But the location, 4911 Dodge Street, has always been in recollection and being privy to such savory details about what went on inside….well, it’s a classic Omaha landmark in my mind.
Years later, in the early 1990’s I would move into the Ambassador Apartments at 109 South 49th Avenue. These gracious apartments were, and still are, right around the corner to the west from the old Hilltop. I would often go for walks around the area and always thought the original 4911 Hilltop building had such an understated poshness compared to other buildings in Dundee. All at once a California Regency feel crossed with a Cape Cod-East Coast country flair. Moneyed, exceptional design, in Miss Cassette’s early assessment.
Photograph by Baron Commercial.
Looking down Dodge Street from the corner on 49th Street. A woman walks westward on the sidewalk as she passes the Hilltop House restaurant on the left side. Photographer: Savage, John. The Durham Museum. 1953
The History of Hilltop House Restaurant
The Hilltop House Restaurant, 4911 Dodge Street, was started in January of 1941 by Raymond and Mildred Matson. Mrs. Mabel Hansen was also a part owner. Mrs. Hansen was Mildred’s mother. Alfred and Mabel Hansen were long time Omaha restauranteurs, having owned and operated the Lincoln Inn, a restaurant located in the United States National Bank Building, and established the cafeteria in the Woodman of the World Building.
1913, Woodman of the World Cafeteria advertisement. The Hansens’ Woodman of the World Cafeteria was a smash hit.
Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Hansen began their professional endeavors in Omaha at the Woodmen Cafeteria located at 14th and Farnam Streets. Subsequently, they managed a cafeteria near the intersection of 24th and Farnam Streets. Mr. Hansen made astute investments. He purchased a commercial block and parcels at 50th and Dodge. His Dodge-Dundee properties were fully leased and thriving in the early 1920s: The George Chapman Hardware store; the John Johnsen bakery; Piggly-Wiggly grocery store; a coffee shop operated by Mrs. Carl Lambrecht; the Swiss Cleaners and the B. & R. Barber Shop. Mr. Hansen would go on to build and form the Dundee Theater Company, of which he was president. He hired John and Alan McDonald to design the theater at 4952 Dodge Street.
In fact, Alfred and Mabel Hansen owned the original land that Hilltop House was built on. The Hansens also reportedly owned the Elwood and Ambassador apartment buildings to the west of the restaurant. I had also read that they owned the Mildred Apartments but I could not find a history on that building in directories from that time, which was odd to me.
Elwood Apartments at 101-103 South 49th Avenue. Additional address and entrance on Dodge Street, northside. I have had a couple of different friend groups who resided here in the good old days.
Ambassador Apartments at 111 South 49th Avenue. These were going to be condominiums but it looks from the website that they are still renting apartments. I have lived here twice and I would move in again in a heartbeat. The loveliest apartments I have ever lived in.
This aerial allows one to see the large swath of Dundee land that the Hansens owned and developed. On the corner of South 49th and Dodge Streets we can see the parking lot and L-shape building of the once glorious Hilltop House. Directly to the south are the Dundee Towers apartments, now called Dundee View at 110 South 49th Street. To the west are the Elwood Apartments at 101-103 South 49th Avenue and next door are the Ambassador Apartments at 111 South 49th Avenue. Photograph by Baron Commercial.
“We originally were going to build the restaurant at the peak of the hill along 49th Street at Dodge Street,” Mr. Ray Matson recalled. “But we decided to go a little further west to leave space for a parking lot on the corner.” This single decision, in my estimation, is what added to the success of both the restaurant and the businesses to follow.
1941. The newly build Hilltop House, a tiny slice of perfection. The original Hilltop House restaurant featured an entrance on Dodge Street and had a dining capacity of 75 in the Pine Room, which transformed into the Harbour Room. In 1947, the Matsons extended the restaurant eastward by incorporating the Garden Room, featuring a series of windows and accommodating 30 patrons.
This is an early scrumptious postcard of the Hilltop House at 4911 Dodge Street. This drawing depicts the original wing of the building with the 1947 addition previously described. Later this building was connected with a structure to the south. Details to follow.
How the northern elevation looks today and its proximity to the Elwood Apartments. The Hilltop House door is sealed up.
The first Hilltop House advertisement. February of 1941.
The Harbour Room transformation. This was the original Pine Room. Photo used with kind permission by Linda Matson Anderson, daughter of the owners, Ray and Mildred Matson.
1942 print advertisement. Wonderful.
The Hilltop House Food
Hilltop House was quickly considered one of the top restaurants in Omaha, serving home-cooked style food. The kind of real food, made with real ingredients that we are all truly starving for now. They were known for their creamed chicken on a hot tea biscuit, homemade soups, chicken salad, cinnamon rolls, hamburger steaks and seafoods, fruit and cream pies. As late as the 70’s Peter Citron continued to write lovingly of the Hilltop House. In his articles he mouth-wateringly described his favorite baked chicken with gravy, steamed brisket, baked game hen and ham croquettes. Interesting that he mentioned a change in ordering style in the mid 1970’s, “you will fill out your own order.” As my grandmother had described many times, the desserts were varied and apparently “to die for.” Strawberry shortcake, pumpkin, cherry or nut cream pie, bread pudding, Bavarian mint, fruit cobbler cake and apple crunch were on the everyday menu. I have been assured that every slice of Hilltop House’s desserts were sheer perfection.
In 1962 Ray Matson and Hilltop House won the Taste of Nebraska Award. According to phrasing on the back of the fabulous Hilltop House postcards, they also carried the “Duncan Hines Seal of Approval.”
Original Hilltop House menu provided with permission by the Omaha Public Library. Check out their incredible flickr Omaha menu collection site:
OMAHA MENU COLLECTION
The owner, Ray Matson, washing dishes in the Hilltop House at 49th and Dodge Streets. Photographer: Savage, John. The Durham Museum. 1948. Ray Matson was the first Nebraska president of the Restaurant Association in 1947 and 1948.
Under the direction of owner-manager Ray Matson, hostess Mildred Matson and chef extraordinaire, Hubert A. “Hub” Piechota, Hilltop House made its name. The restaurant garnered national attention for its varied, home-cooked meals and beautiful atmosphere. A significant number of the antiques collection were amassed by Mr. and Mrs. Matson, along with Mrs. Mabel Hansen creating a Cape Cod homeyness.
That Hilltop House Look
Another part of Hilltop House’s appeal was the decor. People could not get enough of the knotty pine woodwork and varied dining areas. The Matsons designed a Cape Cod Room, a Danish Room, a Duck Room, the Garden Room and the Red Rooster Lounge. Was this straight out of The Official Preppy Handbook? Doesn’t it all sound divine? My mother remembers the Red Rooster Lounge being for Men Only. Now that is very old school East Coast. I could not find proof of this particular statement.
** Addendum of October 7, 2024: I found our proof! The Hilltop House’s Red Rooster Lounge had a long standing policy of serving only men between the hours of 11:30am and 1:30pm Tuesday through Friday. Robert McMorris, local journalist, covered a story from the late 1960s about a female college student who broke the “men-only” luncheon barrier at the Red Rooster Lounge by walking in and standing in the line at the “serving line.” She was met with hoots and jeers from male patrons. Some began shouting, “Take it off!” Long before she was waited on, the young woman left the lounge, running. In 1972 three female college students again took up the call for women’s rights. After words of dispute, the women were allowed to eat in the rear section of the Red Rooster.
I did find on one Omaha website, that in its later years, the Hilltop House became popular with gay men. Now that made sense to me. Can you imagine sitting in one of the dining areas, looking out from those gorgeous windows as the traffic rolled by on Dodge? I included an absolutely fantastic article about the expansion of the Hilltop House and a wonderful description of the decor from the Omaha World Herald, January 14, 1951. (See below.)
The article explains that the Hilltop House expansion involved connecting the restaurant at 4911 Dodge with the Mildred Apartment House directly to the south. This is the additional apartment building of the Hansens that I could not track previously. Mystery solved. The Hansen couple built the Mildred apartment house in 1922 and named it after their daughter, Mildred Hansen Matson. Mrs. Matson would described the early Mildred comprised of six townhouses. The Ray Matsons lived in the eastern-most apartment from 1941 to 1951 while they operated the Hilltop House.
1921. The Omaha Bee. News of A. R. Hansen building his new Mildred Apartment building.
In the background of the photo you can see the Dundee Towers at 110 South 49th Street, being newly built. The Dundee Towers apartments are now called Dundee View.
The 1951 addition linked the restaurant to the previous Mildred Apartment House. This led to the establishment of the lounge, three private dining rooms, an entry hall, and a porch. This elongated, glass-enclosed corridor connecting the two primary dining rooms, a delightful sunlit passage previously adorned with chairs, is one of my preferred attributes of this building.
My favorite tiled, glass enclosed corridor in 1981.
How the interior hall looks now. Divine! Photograph by Baron Commercial.
Cape Cod Room, looking toward entrance. Photo used with kind permission by Linda Matson Anderson, daughter of the owners, Ray and Mildred Matson.
Amidst the knotty pine goodness, is that Mildred Matson at the hostess desk or Mabel Hansen? Stop the Rhapsodic Torture! You know my knotty pine obsession…
This fantastic postcard must be of the Cape Cod Room. Love the images on the walls.
After the 1951 expansion by Architect Franklin Merion Tarbell Mooberry, one of the dining rooms was said to encircle a fireplace adorned with Tennessee flagstone. The walls were constructed of knotty pine, the ceiling comprised wormy chestnut, and the exposed beams were made of fir. A candy-striped carpet adorned the floor. Sections of the entirety were adorned with hand-screened wallpaper. The drapes were crimson red. A huge gilded weathervane perched atop the central structure. Historic hitching posts edged the parking lot.
The Red Rooster Lounge as it appeared in 1951. Like a cozy living room. Apparently this lounge was renovated in 1962 and again in the late 1970s, darkly designed in hunter green with burgundy carpeting and the windows covered over to create a shadowy hideaway; it was located in the southeast wing on the first floor.
Sorority meetings, Rotary Club, art history ladies’ gathering, prenuptial dinners, society luncheons, book clubs, Great Ladies Luncheon and Fashion Shows…The Hilltop House was where people gathered.
Hilltop House postcard circa 1945. I pray that is a linoleum floor. This must have been the early Pine Room, that had entrance off of Dodge Street.
The north entrance faced Dodge Street. This photograph is so mysterious. How can we be sure this wasn’t a doll’s house?
Sublime image from 1960.
Hilltop House sign. Camera faces west, up Dodge Street. Photographer: Savage, John (1903-1989). The Durham Museum. 1964.
Detail magnified!
My prized matchbook.
1978 print advertisement.
End of an Era
After 39 successful years at the Hilltop House, the Matsons, understandably, wanted to retire. The Matsons would turn in their keys on December 25, 1979. The OWH article below, from July 18, 1979, broke the news to a surely disappointed Omaha. I couldn’t help but wonder if the Dr.Wally Duff mentioned is Omaha’s best otolaryngologist?
Also of note, a mention of reopening the Red Rooster Lounge. It must have fallen from favor for a while. The new developers’ idea was to recreate it for the new, young, sophisticated crowd “who would like to sip without disco…”
Dr. Wally Duff, along with local attorneys Jim Schumacher and Dave Karnes, would assume control of the Hilltop House on September 1, 1979. Mr. Piechota was long time manager-chef, became ill and had retired. Mr. Karnes also possessed a couple of Wendy’s restaurants, causing long-standing Hilltop House personnel to fear that the esteemed Hilltop House might convert to fast food. That fear did not come to pass. The new owners commenced to offering Sunday brunch in November 1979, the year Omaha transformed into a Brunch Town.
1979, September 30. Omaha World-Herald.
The Red Rooster Lounge was reopened as the Red Rooster Saloon and was equipped with a juke box, rumored to be “too loud” for the clientele. Later Dr. Duff and Mr. Karnes were bought out and Marcia Baer came in. Marcia Baer was a socialite and a philanthropist, involved with Ak-Sar-Ben and other local social institutions. She was wife of Alan Baer, heir to the Brandeis fortune and head of the J. L. Brandeis chain. (Mr. Baer was also linked in the Franklin Credit Union Scandal.) The multiple proprietors tried many things in an attempt to elevate and relaunch Hilltop House to the current times, ultimately stripping away what Hilltop House was known for. Coldness, carpeting, harsh edges, cool tone textiles and lighting, streamlined in efforts to modernize. By September of 1980, Jim Schumacher was sole owner.
Strangely in the reversal of trend, restaurants featured in Interior Design and Restaurant Design magazines in the fall of 1980 showcased what the Matsons had originally harnessed with their Hilltop House all along. Antiques, natural wood, warmth, natural materials, “nostalgic air.” At this time Omaha was introduced Grandmother’s and Grandmother’s Skillet, Stuart Anderson’s Cattle Company, Gallagher’s, Spaghetti Works and Mother Tucker’s. It appeared the primary overhead for these fledgling enterprises was acquiring the antiques, weathered wood, and primitives for which the Hilltop had been renowned for decades.
The 1980 and 1981 Omaha City Directory still had Hilltop House listed under its familiar operating name. This OWH article of June 1981 made an announcement of Hilltop House becoming a Mexican restaurant. Apparently Bob and Kay Mackie had bought Hilltop House after a recent success with their newly opened Mexican restaurant called Roberto’s out on 90th and Center. The couple also owned the Old Mill Lounge. The article hints that the previous partnership, who had bought the property in 1979, could not make a go of it due to “lack of restaurant experience.”
I was able to find Roberto’s Hilltop listed under a new restaurants section in the OWH in 1981. Mexican and the Hilltop House classic, creamed chicken, seems like it might have been an odd combination for Omaha at that time.
September of 1981. Omaha World-Herald.
By August of 1982 the once Hilltop House building was up for sale. Unfortunately Roberto’s did not make it long enough to be listed in the Omaha City Directory. 1982 had the 4911 Dodge location listed as “vacant”. Hilltop House sat vacant in 1983 also. It wasn’t until 1985 that 4911 Dodge Street was listed as “Under Construction”, which, after all this dismal detective work, made me feel a bit of relief.
New Life
William and Susan Getzschman bought the Hilltop House building in 1984 and began remodeling, hence the information I had found in the directory. The expansive Hilltop House enterprise was, by 1985, repurposed into offices, retail spaces, and once again, apartments.
In 1985 Jan Buckingham of the design firm of Berry, Buckingham and Kuper leased the two-story, 3,127 square foot southeast wing. The firm used the first floor once the Red Rooster Lounge. Here she is in the refashioned Red Rooster Lounger.
1986 brought Nancy Heller and her business, Nan C, a fine women’s clothing shop onto the scene. Additionally Strategic Management Resources, Brian Zdan attorney, First American National Securities stock and bond brokers, A.L. Williams and Company Insurance and Bill Ramsey Associates Inc moved in the other, now divided offices. 1989 found 4911 Dodge listed under Nan C but 4913 had been broken into formal, individual suites.
1985. New owner, Susan Getzschman studying the glassed-in corridor of my dreams.
Nan C has maintained this beautiful location all of these years since 1986. This really is quite a glorious store, if you’ve never been.
Currently the other offices are leased by Pasutech, Paul J. Strawhecker Inc and Alcoholics Anonymous Central Office. This cute, little, circular entrance on the east side of the south wing of the building was added 1951 and it matches the middle rounded entry with the cupola.
The once Dodge Street (north) entrance is now filled in.
In beginning to research this article, I called Linda Matson Anderson, daughter of Ray and Mildred. She is a realtor in town and understandably busy as the spring season builds. I found her to be both very friendly and direct. She was so kind to let me use some of her family’s photos. She was very firm that I would not be getting anything else from her–apparently people have claimed to have the various, delicious, original Hilltop House recipes and or have tried to get them. I completely understood her protective nature. I assured her I cannot cook. We will have coffee at some point and discuss all of these very good things. I was able to share with her some brief memories of her parent’s restaurant from my child’s eye.
Other beautiful interiors of the once Hilltop House restaurant. Mindfully restored. Photographs by Baron Commercial.
I still get the same feeling when I pass by Hilltop House. Clean, simple luxury. I can occasionally hear my grandmother say, “Oh the Hilltop House”…and on those days, that is quite comforting.
“And I would’ve liked to know you. But I was just a kid.”
I welcome your comments and would certainly love to hear about your memories of the Hilltop House. Please share your additional clues to the story in the “Comments.” Thank you, Omaha friends!
Anniversary dinner. Bostwick, Louis (1868-1943) and Frohardt, Homer (1885-1972). The Durham Museum. 1957.
Love this part of town and want to dig in more? Check out these investigations:
A Passing Glimpse: 4604 Dodge Street
The Little Stories: 3737 Dodge Street
You can keep up with my latest investigations by joining my email group. Click on “Contact” then look for “Sign me up for the Newsletter!” Enter your email address. You will get sent email updates every time I have written a new article. Also feel free to join My Omaha Obsession on Facebook. Thank you, Omaha friends. Miss Cassette
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Oh, the Hilltop House, the Saturday luncheon for “girls” young and old. I think the Red Rooster met its demise after women’s lib, who ever heard of a men’s only bar?
Peggio
I am sure you are right. That makes sense. To my knowledge there might still be some men’s clubs on the East Coast–of the Ivy League scotch and cigar tradition. Maybe disbanded only recently.
For a time about 15 years ago I collected and framed vintage restaurant postcards from Omaha. They remain in our dining room. I have one of the Hilltop House… a place I hadn’t heard of. One day my grandmother (who was from Norfolk, NE not Omaha) walked through the dining room and said, “The Hilltop House! I remember eating there.”
Oh how cool! I bet you have some real gems…obviously they stir good conversation.
A woman friend of mine took another woman and were the first to order a meal in the men’s only room. I’ll get her to tell the story. Congratulations on another wonderful story of an Omaha landmark!
O M G!! We must hear this story! Just fabulous…
Wonderful article on the Hilltop House! Remember it fondly….and also remember that 3 well known interior designers Berry, Buckingham & Kuper opened a studio in the East section for the building which later became a custom jewelers, Mark Edwards! It was a very desirable location in it’s day…
Thank you so much. I do love these comments. I had no idea about Mark Edwards’ studio nor the interior design firm. What time period was that? So glorious to imagine. Thanks again
I’ve been binge reading all of your articles this morning – I’m obsessed! I grew up in a small Nebraska town, and coming to Omaha when I was a girl (early/mid 90’s) was such a treat. Now that my husband and I have made Omaha our home, we often drive around town, looking at all of these old buildings and wondering what it used to be like. We always feel like we were born in the wrong era! Now about the Hilltop House – I’m convinced that a restaurant like this could totally thrive today! It would be such a novelty – a retro inspired menu and interior. My 80 year old father-in-law worked his entire career at Union Pacific, and often tells us stories of amazing restaurants in Omaha from back in the day. One that I remember him mentioning (if his memory serves him) was a cafeteria or restaurant at the top of the Brandeis building – is this true? Anyway, just wanted to let you know what an enjoyable morning I’ve had with my coffee and your blog. Thank you!
You make my heart soar! Thank you. I do appreciate this. I agree that the Hilltop House would be The Place now. It could be incredible. And yes, the Brandeis downtown had a number of restaurants. I have photos of them and have written about them on my FB page. I will get to all of those great places in time. Brandeis at the Crossroads also had many restaurants inside. It is bizarre to think about the amount of staff employed and patrons that must have flocked to this dept store in order to leverage five plus different restaurants, tea rooms and snack shops. Awesome. Thanks again.
That’s where I would frequently meet my father for a late lunch after school; the Brandeis Cafeteria. I attended Central High; my dad was the comptroller of Brodkey Jewelry Company.
Remember spring 1971, my grandparents took me to the Hilltop House to celebrate my graduating from High School
Oh, that sounds so nice…what a good memory that must be. Thanks for sharing.
My sisters worked there and one met her husband there!
Oh my goodness. How lovely. I imagine the after shift slice of pie!
Loved the Hilltop House. I remember at least one of my birthday parties there (as a young girl)! It was a special place.
Oh, I am so jealous! It must have been wonderful. Thanks for sharing this memory.
There was a large Aquarium in the entryway. I would sit & be fascinated by the fish whilst my parents had cocktails. Mom would have to gather me up when dinner arrived….
Oh this is so great. What an entertainment for a child. I do wish I could have seen it. Thanks for sharing this.
This was my grandparents restaurant. What a great article! Most of my childhood memories include the Hilltop House! Every Birthday, holiday…and the aquarium! That was my favorite! I also loved being in the kitchen with my grandpa, sneaking French fries and joking with his chef Hubert. I’m so happy so many people still have such fond memories of the Hilltop House!
Hello Amy, how nice to hear from you. I can’t imagine the behind the scenes view you were exposed to. People obviously treasured their Hilltop memories. What great stories! Thank you for commenting.
We lived in the neighborhood and, as a child of 8 or 9, I remember that very often after Sunday Mass at St. Margaret Mary’s, my parents and I would go to the Hilltop House for Sunday dinner. I always had the hamburger steak with mushroom sauce!
I also remember that there was often a wait to get a table, and I would spend my time looking at the framed portraits of every US President that graced the wall along the long, windowed hallway which ran parallel to 49th Street.
Do any of your readers remember another fine dining establishment just a little west of the Hilltop House called the Old English Inn? It’s now the home of Pageturners Lounge.
Dan, this is so vivid. Thanks for writing in. I hope to do a story about the Olde English Inn, as I’ve only just heard of it in this last year of investigation. My family never spoke of it, that I can recall, and I look forward to digging in. Maybe others will write.
I can actually say that I went to this restaurant at least a few times before it closed. Yes, the food was wonderful, and the place had such a pleasant homey feel. I remember getting the pickled herring appetizer and enjoying it thoroughly, those that is something I would probably never consider eating today.
It was almost a rite of passage, the first time your grandmother, or your Aunt, took you to lunch at the Hilltop House! You dressed up, wore white gloves and felt quite grown up! Mostly I remember the desserts and the wonderful rolls! I was heartbroken when I heard it had closed.
As a child my grandparents and mother would take me to the Hilltop House for Sunday lunch (late 60’s). I can remember for desert being served green jello with a dollop of mayonnaise on it. What a great place and great memories.
We Midwesterners do love our jello with a bit of mayonnaise, don’t we? Thanks for ringing in. Great memories.
I really enjoyed your article. Thanks! Brought back lots of memories. My first REAL job was at The Hilltop House. That would be around 1975-6. I was 14-15 years old. Everyone that worked there was very cool and we were all good friends. It was a very family atmosphere. There were employees there that had already worked there for decades (I knew that wasn’t me.). There was a group of teenagers who worked there and most of us were basically little stoners who were just trying to figure out our place in life, but we took the job very seriously. I started out loading dirty dishes in to the dishwasher conveyor, and worked my way up to pot washer on the food line, and eventually to food prep. I was the guy that loaded those Prime Ribs in the 400° oven!
I recently found a couple people I used to work with there in the Forgotten Omaha Facebook group. Overall, I have fond memories of working there and the people I worked with, and yes, the food was as good as you think it was! Best Prime Rib you ever ate!
Thanks for the cool article.
5111 ruggles st
I worked there with a douchebag named hub ..He was a chef.I made it a day or two as i dishwashed my ass off…I partied with john a waiter there..
Regarding men-only bars and restaurants: The Bombay Bar at the Fontenelle Hotel (which was the bar on the lower level that got renamed after Sheraton closed the amazing Bombay Room – which was also a bar – on the lobby level) was men-only until 5pm. How eager the ladies must have been to come streaming into a bar that was probably full of smoke and day drinkers 😉
For whatever reason, my folks never took us kids to the Hilltop House, however, like most my mom used to recall the great dishes and especially the desserts they offered. My folks were married not long after WWII, and when they lived mid-town they ate there often. Now I realize what I had missed in all my formative years!
By today’s standards the Hilltop House décor is horribly out of style, but I can see how well it DID fit in say, around 1952! “Early American” was popular then, and each room probably had it’s own “theme” of design. As for gay men going there, won’t mention names but at the end the Hilltop was purchased by a member of the “community” in an effort to resurrect it, which didn’t work out. A modern version of the same traditions this place held would be KILLER today. There definitely isn’t near enough parking had it survived today!
My mother was a waitress at Hilltop House for several years – this would be in the early to mid-60’s when it was so incredibly popular and oh-so-glamorous place. Each year my Bluebird troop would have a Russell Stover chocolate sale – part of the national Camp Fire Girls/Bluebirds fund raising. During that time of year, on Saturday nights, I was given permission by Mr. Matson to sell Campfire Girls/Bluebirds Russell Stover chocolates wearing my Bluebird uniform to the elegant diners as they were leaving the private dining rooms. I recall the beautiful clothes worn by the customers – and the gorgeous dresses worn by the women – sequins, jewelry, incredibly high heels and hair -that 60’s look – so totally dazzling and grown-up – in my imagination I felt like I was on a movie set of a James Bond film – perhaps From Russia with Love?! There was a beautiful, enclosed porch and entrance hall where I would sell the boxes of candy. Thanks to the Hilltop House and Mr. Matson’s generosity for allowing me to sell what seemed like tons of boxes of Russell Stover chocolates – every year I was a Bluebird ‘top-seller,’ and annually earned two free weeks of ‘to-die-for’ summer camp at Harriet Harding Campfire Girls Camp – a dream come true all the way around for a little girl!
Our family had dinner at the Hilltop House often – every other month? Maybe it wasn’t that often but it sure seems like it was! I remember my ‘chilled tomato juice’ served on a little plate with a paper doily and the cracker basket – Rye Krisp with butter was my favorite. It still sounds delish! I don’t remember what else we ate, but now I am guessing that the reason we went so often was that my parents, my brother and I all found something satisfying.
Another commenter mentioned the fish tank but the attraction for us was the Wall of Presidents. The pictures show a long row of windows along the parking lot extending toward Dodge Street. It was essentially a hallway with chairs along the window side. Reading the articles and posts, I am guessing that it was a place for the lunch crowd to wait for a table. When we went at dinnertime the restaurant was nearly empty. On the wall opposite the chairs was a gallery of the US Presidents, with their name and dates of their terms in order. There was space at the end of the line and new portraits were added as they came into office. For many elections I pictured the new president at the end of the line. I wonder who got the last spot. I wish I could have taken my own kids to the Hilltop House. When in Omaha with them I would always point out where it used to be – right across the street from Zoob’s.
I was looking for photos and information about The Hilltop House and ran across your article from 2016. I worked there for about 10 years in the 70’s and 80’s; I probably waited on your mother and grandmother. Recently I attended a funeral for one of our coworkers and we lost a Hilltopper not long ago. I still have a close friendship with a couple of cohorts from those days and several others were in attendance and in conversations we had, a reunion was a common theme. If you had any thoughts on how to go about such an endeavor I would love to hear from you. I am not a fan of social platforms and don’t subscribe to them. If You are still in contact with Linda you have my permission to give her my contact information; I would love to hear from her. The Hilltop House was truly one of a kind.
I have fond memories of going there as a child with my grandparents and parents. Of the various rooms and running into all their friends. Maybe after church at Dundee. The toasted almond pie was to die for. That was my mom’s favorite and I remember it well. It was very special. What I would give for that recipe!
Thank you for your write up in the great memories.