“If I were ever told this would be my last meal on earth, I would probably ask for Lobster Della Fano.”
Elaine Bissel, 1994, Journal News
On July 16, 2005, Rudolph “Sonny” Donato and his 79-year-old brother Nick served the final meal at the Hilltop, one of Nyack’s most beloved restaurants for nearly 60 years. On that bittersweet day, a table of sixteen guests shared Lobster Della Fano.
The Hilltop wasn’t fancy inside. Its exterior looked old-fashioned and timeworn. Yet locals howled in dismay when it closed. The robust menu and quick, friendly service kept diners coming back for their favorites — whether it was the signature Lobster Della Fano, stuffed artichokes, or other Italian specialties. Some customers came daily; others had “their” tables. The wait could be long on weekends, but the food was always worth it.
The restaurant opened at just the right time, in the right place, with the right menu. Italian cuisine was gaining popularity, and postwar prosperity encouraged Americans to dine out more often. After the Tappan Zee Bridge opened, Rockland County’s population exploded. Families could easily reach the Hilltop at 312 Main Street, near the busy intersection of Route 59 and 9W. A large parking lot made dining convenient, but it was the quality of the food that made the restaurant thrive.
Word of mouth made the Hilltop one of Rockland County’s most successful restaurants. In 2005, Nicky Donato recalled how business took off after the bridge opened: “There were very few restaurants in the early days,” he said.
“The Hilltop catered to families and friends, and to this day (1976), most of the regulars can trace their lineage back to those early postwar years.”
Barbara Mora, Journal News
The Hilltop’s success came from more than food. Its location, warmth, and sense of community made it irresistible.
The Donato Family
Nickolas F. Donato, born in 1890 in Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy, immigrated to America with his parents, Mary and Giulio (listed as Di Donato in the 1910 census), and a sister in 1894. The family settled in Astoria, Queens. Early census records list Nickolas as a house painter, though he also worked as a laborer and truck driver.
Nellie in 1925 and Nickolas Donato in 1972. Courtesy of David Donato
He married Helen (Nellie) Bernardini in 1916. After her death in 1938, he married Margaret Alfieri. In the mid-1920s, the family moved to Nyack and settled on Upper Depew Avenue. Nicholas painted buildings throughout Nyack and the halls of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Nicholas and Nellie had six children — Julius (Juily), Marie (Mary), Theresa (Teddy), Thomas (Tommy), Nicholas (Nicky), and Rudolph (Sonny). The three older sons served in World War II, and Sonny served as a chef for a general during the Korean War. Nicholas Jr. earned a medal in the Pacific for shooting down a kamikaze plane from a destroyer. Their service epitomized the contributions of America’s “Greatest Generation.”
The Donato family in 1937 (L-R: Nickolas, Nicky, Nellie) and the family early 1970s (L-R: Nicky, Teddy, Julius, Margaret, Nickolas, Tommy, Mary, and Sonny). courtesy of David Donato.
All the children — and later, some of the grandchildren — worked in the family business. Grandchildren Michael and Laura worked there until the restaurant closed.
In the mid-1980s, Nicky opened a short-lived second restaurant in downtown Nyack called The Oliver Mitchell, named after the destroyer he served on during World War II. Reviewing it in The Journal News, Elaine Bissel wrote that “Oliver Mitchell in no way resembles the Hilltop,” but praised its casual, friendly, and efficient service (July 30, 1987).
The Spaghetti House & Nick’s Tavern — Hilltop’s Precursors
Around 1935, the Donatos opened The Spaghetti House in part of their home on Upper Depew Avenue — a time-honored tradition among Italian families who turned their kitchens into restaurants. Nellie ran the kitchen and restaurant. Her name appeared on the family’s applications for a beer and wine license in 1936 and a liquor license in 1938 — the same year she passed away.
Upper Depew Avenue was then a busy route connecting Nyack with Mountain View Avenue and running parallel to Upper Main Street (Route 59). The Spaghetti House operated as a roadside tavern where locals came to eat, drink, and socialize.
Nicky recalled one Depression-era story that captured the spirit of Central Nyack life:
“A patron once came in while we were still asleep, chopped wood for the stove, cooked his own meal, and woke us up.”
In 1940, Nicholas bought property on Route 59 near the bend in Central Nyack and opened Nick’s Tavern. In 1945, he leased the property that became the Roadside Tavern, later known as the Central Nyack Market, run by his daughter, Mary Donato Firman. Mary eventually managed the liquor store next to the Hilltop and worked in the restaurant kitchen as well. Newspapers often described the Hilltop as run by four brothers, but in truth, it was managed by four brothers and a sister.
Ad for Nick’s Tavern listed as near Piping Rock (another tavern of the day).
Location, Location, Location
The Hilltop’s site covers a long stretch of Nyack history. In 1869, Smith Lydecker cleared land to build an ice pond between Route 59 and High Street, west of Route 9W. He lined the spring-fed pond with stone and expanded it over the next decade. The outlet fed Nyack Brook. Lydecker built a large icehouse on the southeast side to store harvested ice.
When refrigeration emerged in the 1920s, the ice business collapsed. The icehouse fell into disuse and was eventually demolished. The pond became a local swimming and skating spot for many years. In 1946, the McDermott brothers purchased the neglected property from the Village of Nyack and cleared the land. Today, part of the old pond lies beneath the New York State Thruway.
By 1884, three two-story houses stood along Main Street between the icehouse and Highland Avenue (Route 9W). The house closest to the icehouse became the Hilltop. The next became the Hilltop Liquor Store (also owned by the family), and the third still stands on the corner today.
The Hilltop Evolves
In 1946, the Donato family pooled their resources to build a new restaurant. The property cost $3,000. Father and sons rebuilt the house at 312 Main Street, removing the second floor and attic while keeping the original first floor and foundation. They reused lumber salvaged from a Nyack carriage house and Camp Shanks in Orangeburg — the largest World War II embarkation point on the East Coast. The remodeled building included a new second floor at the rear.
The front of the first floor became the bar, lounge, and main dining room, while the rear served as an apartment for a family member. Around 1956, the family expanded the dining area into the back section, enlarged the bar and lounge, and converted the upstairs into an office. During construction, John Lovaglio, a member of the extended family, suggested the name Hilltop, inspired by its location at the highest point on Route 59 overlooking downtown Nyack.
While the Donatos served meals earlier, the grand opening took place on July 4, 1947. Villagers Minnie and George Wamsley ordered the first meal.
Inside the Hilltop
From the start, the Hilltop felt unmistakably homey — green-checked tablecloths, red faux-leather banquettes, nautical prints, and Winnie-the-Pooh figurines set the tone. Guests entered through the cozy lounge and bar before reaching the spacious dining room in back.
The bar wasn’t a lonely counter facing a wall but a four-sided square in the middle of the room where people could gather and socialize eye-to-eye.
In the early days, an organ sat just off the bar in the main dining area. Nicholas played for guests on weekends. Later, Robert Morise from New York City became the resident musician until 1967. Tommy’s daughter, Debby, also played. By 1970, the organ had become a fond memory.
The restaurant opened daily from noon to midnight (closing at 9 p.m. on Sundays) and famously never accepted credit cards. A foyer fire in 1977 forced a brief closure, but otherwise, the Hilltop operated nearly every day for almost 60 years.
Sample Hilltop ads. (Upper left, lower left, right) 1947, 1952, 1967.
The Menu
A Table for Everyone: At the Hilltop, fame didn’t matter — the food did.
Early on, the Hilltop served spaghetti, pizza, and chops. Sonny was the creative mind behind the restaurant’s Italian specialties, having learned his skills from his stepmother, Margaret. While many patrons begged for a Hilltop recipe book, every cook improvised — a style known as cucina a occhio, or “cooking by the eye.” Fresh ingredients and personal flair kept the menu exciting.
Three dishes stood out above the rest. Lobster Della Fano — named, according to legend, by Nyack attorney Arthur Prindle, who had served as a Pacific bomber squadron chief in World War II — topped the list. The dish featured a 1¼-pound lobster stuffed with shrimp scampi in garlic butter sauce.
Stuffed artichokes became another favorite, especially after WABC-TV featured them in 1974. The recipe was simple — buttery breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese — but perfectly executed.
Shrimp Altomare (also named by Prindle) ranked second among regulars: shrimp, eggplant, broccoli, and cheese ravioli dusted with Parmesan. Seafood Pescara offered clams, scallops, shrimp, fish filet, and crab claws with red peppers and mushrooms.
One of the most important parts of the menu, titled “Neptune’s Choicest,” included fresh clams, shrimp, sole, swordfish, and flounder, as well as seasonal dishes like soft-shell crabs.
Veal, eggplant, and chicken parmigiana, spaghetti and meatballs, and lasagna were perennial favorites. T-bone steaks and lamb chops topped the price list, and Italian soups rounded out the menu.
Famous and Not-So-Famous Rub Shoulders at the Hilltop
“Anybody who came to Nyack came here.”
Robin Miller, a family member per and longtime Hilltop waitress and hostess
Oscar-winning actress Helen Hayes and her son James MacArthur dined there often at their own table. Johnny Cash stopped in one night after performing at the Nanuet Theater Go-Round. Bill Murray, a frequent guest, once wore a lobster-print shirt and played Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” on the jukebox.
Local families like the Cardonas and MacCartneys also had regular tables, known to every waiter and patron. Rich and poor, famous and unknown, Democrat and Republican, mechanics and politicians — all gathered for good food and better company.
The Hilltop wasn’t just a restaurant; it was a community institution. The laughter of regulars mingled with the chatter of visiting celebrities. Whether it was Helen Hayes enjoying a quiet dinner with her son, or local patrons at the bar debating village politics and sports over burgers and beer, everyone found a place — and a story — at the Hilltop.
“It was the Hub where, on any given night, you could go in, see someone you knew, and have a great meal.”
Ilene Fox, 1996
Hilltop Legacy
By the turn of the century, the Hilltop had become one of Rockland’s few remaining links to postwar Nyack—a living reminder of the village’s golden age of family restaurants. It bridged eras and generations, where GIs turned businessmen and young families shared the same tables once occupied by their parents. Its closing marked the end of a chapter that had defined Nyack’s social life for more than half a century.
After Walgreens purchased and demolished the Hilltop site in 2012 to build its pharmacy, the landmark vanished. Since 2005, villagers have missed the chance to experience what a true Italian family restaurant was all about. Still, countless longtime residents remember every detail — the food, the warmth, and the camaraderie.
The Donato family’s contribution to Nyack’s life and culture remains incalculable.
The author thanks David Donato for providing many of the photos and stories of the old days at Hilltop for this article. Any errors in the article are mine and not those of David Donato.
Mike Hays has lived in the Nyacks for 38 years. A former executive at McGraw-Hill Education in New York City, he now serves as Treasurer and past President of the Historical Society of the Nyacks, Vice President and Trustee of the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, and Historian for the Village of Upper Nyack.
Since 2017, he has written the popular Nyack People & Places column for Nyack News & Views, chronicling the rich history, architecture, and personalities of the lower Hudson Valley. As part of his work with the Historical Society, Mike has researched and developed exhibitions, written interpretive materials, and leads well-attended walking tours that bring Nyack’s layered history to life.
Married to Bernie Richey, he enjoys cycling, history walks, and winters in Florida. You can follow him on Instagram as @UpperNyackMike.
