Boston’s Top of the Hub Restaurant Will Close in April
The building owner will replace the 54-year-old dining destination, famed for its epic views, with a new observatory.
An unparalleled view of Boston is on the menu at Top of the Hub—until it closes in April. / Photo courtesy of Top of the Hub
If you’re hoping to treat your sweetheart to dinner and sweeping views of Boston on Valentine’s Day, act fast to make a Top of the Hub reservation—because this will be the soaring restaurant’s final February 14. Top of the Hub and the Prudential Tower’s Skywalk Observatory will both close for good on April 18, following failed lease negotiations between the attractions’ operator and the building owner.
Higher-ups at Select Restaurants, which is behind both the Top of the Hub and the Skywalk, tell the Boston Globe that building owner Boston Properties, Inc., declined to renew the attractions’ leases, “Despite continued sales growth, a commitment to once again invest millions of dollars in the restaurant, and our heartfelt desire to operate the restaurant as we have for decades.”
Boston magazine has reached out to Boston Properties for more information and will update this story. In a statement the company provided to the Globe, executive vice president Bryan Koop said, “We thank Select Restaurants for their many years of operations of the Skywalk Observatory and Top of the Hub… Boston Properties is planning an exciting new design for an observatory at Prudential Center that will provide a world-class visitor experience for visitors to Boston.”
For now, visitors—and curious locals alike—can ascend the 50 stories up to the observatory, or all the way up to the 52nd floor restaurant, for some of the best views in the city. Top of the Hub has been an iconic Boston destination for more than 50 years—even before it had a real kitchen, per its 1980 Best of Boston award.
Select Restaurants informed its staff of 200 people on Wednesday afternoon that they will be losing their jobs.
“Our long-tenured staff is making preparations to continue to welcome friends and clients over the coming months. Our guests will continue to experience the exceptional food and hospitality they have come to experience for more than 50 years,” president and chief operating officer Alan Donatelli said in the press release. “We are proud to have a family of great, committed professionals working with us to positively contribute to Top of the Hub’s storied success.”
The restaurant hosts nightly live jazz, and boasts a menu with the likes of seafood towers, filet mignon, and ice-cold martinis. But it’s the epic views that have made it a mainstay special-occasion place—and the site of countless marriage proposals. In a closing announcement shared with the media, Select Restaurants acknowledges the closure is a loss for locals.
“While the popular restaurant has hosted many famous people over the years, it is the thousands of patrons from Greater Boston who celebrated countless engagements, anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions who will miss it the most,” the statement reads.
Stay tuned for more information about what new, open-to-the-public attraction is headed for the Prudential Tower. And really, get your Valentine’s Day reservation at Top of the Hub on the books now.
Prudential Center, 800 Boylston St., Boston, 617-536-1775, topofthehub.net.
