Don O'Rourke and his wife, Nancy, from West Bridgewater sat on a bench as they studied the list of items at yesterday's auction at the Hilltop Steak House Restaurant in Braintree.
(DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF)
Hilltop heifers fetch hefty price at auction
BRAINTREE -- Auctioneers did not expect the 50-foot cactus sign that greeted customers to the Hilltop Steak House Restaurant and butcher shop in Braintree to sell for just $100.
But the famous fiberglass cows -- brown-and-white and black bovines modeled after Hereford and Black Angus breeds -- offset the loss, selling for $825 to $1,100 apiece.
The hefty heifers, measuring 7 feet long and 4 feet wide, weigh in at 300 pounds.
The 410-seat restaurant and butcher shop, which had been at the site about 15 years, closed Feb. 10 after the land was sold to
"The cows were a great attraction," said a melancholy Lenny DeRosa, the vice president of restaurant operations for the Hilltop, which will maintain its original location in Saugus. "To be honest with you, I'm a little heartbroken."
The first Hilltop Restaurant opened in 1961 in Saugus and was followed by others in Nashua and Braintree. The Nashua location closed some time ago.
More than 75 people followed an auctioneer from the butcher shop to the kitchen to the dining room to bid on items as varied as 30-inch
"It had a unique decor, especially the chandeliers," said Jerry Kuliopulos , 67, pointing to the light fixtures that were assembled with antlers and sold for between $125 and $550 apiece.
Long before the auction ended, DeRosa left and drove back to the Saugus location with a heavy heart.
"It's just not easy to close the door and walk away," said DeRosa, who has worked for Hilltop since 1976. "There's a lot of memories . . . a lot of people you've seen there and fed there and made happy."
April Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com. Andrew Ryan can be reached at acryan@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
