The Hilltop Tavern was located at Hoffman’s Corners, eight miles north of St. Paul on Highway 61.

The Grand Opening was on November 18, 1933 – the end of Prohibition.  The ad below tells us that the building was previously Bob’s Chicken Tavern.  It was a two-story wood frame structure, owned by Henry Hoffman.  The word “Orchestra” on the ad gives it its place here.

White Bear Press, November 18, 1933

FIRE DESTROYS THE HILLTOP

The only other thing we know is that on June 27, 1937, the building burned down.  On June 28, 1937, the Minneapolis Tribune headline read, “Flames Sweep Tavern, Loss is $6,000.”  The fire was first spotted by a man waiting for a St. Paul bus, and by Hoffman himself, who also owned a nearby grocery store.

Fire companies were called from White Bear Lake and North St. Paul but were unable to do more than halt the spread of flames because of an inadequate water supply. An unidentified employee of the tavern was asleep on the second floor.  Hoffman threw a rock through his window to wake him up, and was rescued through a window by neighbors with a ladder.