Going Up to the Hilltop

Photographs and Credits

The listing office and selling office are Douglas Elliman Real Estate – The Sarkis Team. The listing agent and selling agent are The Sarkis Team. MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN) supplies the twelve listing photographs; the captured record doesn’t identify the photographer.

MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN) compiled the property details and images from sellers, lessors, landlords, public records, and other third-party sources. The material is solely for consumers’ personal, noncommercial use in identifying properties of the type displayed that they have a good-faith interest in buying, leasing, or renting. MLS PIN and its subscribers make no representations or warranties about the accuracy of the details or images.

Commentary

I ate at the Hilltop Steak House as a kid growing up in East Boston (Eastie). I don’t remember too much about those dinners, but I remember that everything was à la carte, which seemed weird. My steak arrived on its own plate, devoid of any trimmings except for a sprig of parsley, and I thought that was wild.

Eastie’s older guys always talked about “going up to the Hilltop” for dinner. I remember driving up and down Route 1 over the years and seeing long lines stretch through the vestibule behind those plastic cows. The family of Hilltop Steak House founder Frank Giuffrida lived at 1215 Main Street in Lynnfield,¹ a home listed with approximately 10,250 square feet of living area on 2.31 acres.²

The house in the listing photographs strikes me as an homage to The Brady Bunch: a time capsule of late 1960s and early 1970s opulence. Danielle Evans-Cole’s Northshore Magazine article described the house’s bar and kitchens and noted a sunken living room and custom interiors.³ Dan Cederholm’s June 5th Studio Notes #87 called the house a “1970s time capsule” and praised a video documenting the interiors.⁴

The house had received updates before the sale. Annie Sarlin reported for Boston.com that ice-dam damage led to repairs that included replacing the roof, updating the heating and cooling system, and replacing some 1970s wallpaper.⁵ I appreciate the period character that survived those changes.

Gina Giuffrida, Frank’s daughter, told 7 News WHDH that her mother, Irene Giuffrida, hosted every holiday at the house. Gina called Irene “the hostess with the mostest”. Gina traced the tradition to her father’s work hosting people at the restaurant.¹ Caterina Primavera, the couple’s granddaughter, told Northshore Magazine how much pride her grandmother took in the house. Caterina described her grandfather and his home as larger than life, then added that “my Nana made it feel like home”.³

George Sarkis, one of the listing agents, told Boston.com in June that the prospective buyers intended to retain the lower-level design. George described a house that felt like a home filled with “love and good memories”.⁵ The property, listed for about $3.9 million on June 12th, 2026, sold for about $3.7 million on August 7th, 2026.²

I’ve seen this type of house many times throughout my real estate career. The survival of so much period character comes as no surprise. I appreciate the nod to homemaking and homeownership.

My Brokerage Disclosure

I’m Jonathan Bowen, licensed in Massachusetts as a real estate broker. I must follow the rules of MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN), Massachusetts law, and federal law when publishing real estate posts; fair housing requirements apply.⁶ I keep my opinions separate from the information attributed to listing sources.

MLS Listing Record

MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN) supplies the following twelve fields, rechecked on November 12th, 2026, at 12:19:39 PM EST. The source codes are SF for Single Family and SLD for Sold, and the Unit Number field is blank. Pinergy’s full report describes the property as Single Family – Detached.

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Required Listing Fields

Field	Source Value
Property Type	SF
Status	SLD
Active Status Flag	No
Listing Number	73535243
Street Number	1215
Street Name	Main St
Unit Number
Town	Lynnfield, MA
State	MA
List Price	$3,895,000
Listing Office	Douglas Elliman Real Estate – The Sarkis Team
Listing Agent	The Sarkis Team

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Sale and Property Details

Field	Source Value
Sale Price	$3,650,000
Sale Date	August 7th, 2026
Selling Office	Douglas Elliman Real Estate – The Sarkis Team
Selling Agent	The Sarkis Team
Listing Date	June 12th, 2026
Offer Date	June 12th, 2026
Off-Market Date	June 15th, 2026
Days on Market	3
Days to Offer	0
Original List Price	$3,895,000
Style	Contemporary
Year Built	1970
Year Built Source	Public Record
Year Built Description	Unknown/Mixed
Rooms	20
Bedrooms	5
Structured Bathroom Fields	7 full; 0 half
Bathroom Count in Public Remarks	6.5
Linked Public Record Bathroom Fields	6 full; 1 half
Approximate Living Area	10,250 square feet
Living Area Source	Other
Living Area Disclosure	Living area sqft is approx.
Living Area Includes Below-Grade Square Feet	No
Approximate Acres	2.31
Listing Photographs	12

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Pinergy’s linked public record lists six full bathrooms and one half bathroom, corroborating the 6.5 count in the MLS PIN public remarks and 7 News WHDH.⁷ The structured MLS PIN fields retain their conflicting count of seven full bathrooms and no half bathrooms. The public record also lists 1971, eight bedrooms, and 22 rooms under Residential-Multiple Bldgs; the MLS PIN listing gives 1970, five bedrooms, and 20 rooms.

MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN) compiled the property details and images from sellers, lessors, landlords, public records, and other third-party sources. The material is solely for consumers’ personal, noncommercial use in identifying properties of the type displayed that they have a good-faith interest in buying, leasing, or renting. MLS PIN and its subscribers make no representations or warranties about the accuracy of the details or images.

Sources

1. 7 News WHDH, “Unique Lynnfield home built by Hilltop Steak House family sells in one day”, June 17th, 2026. Gina Giuffrida recounts her parents’ hospitality in the report, which describes an agreement after one day and doesn’t establish a June closing. ↩︎2 ↩︎
2. MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN), listing 73535243, authenticated Pinergy full report and sixteen-field export, checked on November 11th, 2026; the full report and Data View were rechecked on November 12th, 2026, at 12:19:39 PM EST. The record gives June 12th as the listing and offer date, June 15th as the off-market date, three days on market, and August 7th as the sale date; those fields retain their separate meanings from 7 News WHDH’s report of an agreement after one day. The record gives a $3,895,000 list price and a $3,650,000 sale price, with the public transaction history at Redfin also recording the August 7th closing. The MLS PIN bathroom fields report seven full bathrooms and no half bathrooms; the public remarks report 6.5 bathrooms. ↩︎2 ↩︎
3. Danielle Evans-Cole, “A North Shore Home …”, Northshore Magazine, April 23rd, 2026. The report describes the period interiors and records Caterina Primavera’s account of her grandparents’ attention to the house and its place in family life. ↩︎2 ↩︎
4. Dan Cederholm, Studio Notes #87, June 5th, 2026. The post records Cederholm’s reaction to the home and a video documenting its interiors. ↩︎
5. Annie Sarlin, “Asking $3.9m, the Hilltop Steak House family home went under contract in one day”, Boston.com, June 15th, 2026. Annie Sarlin documents repairs after ice-dam damage and quotes George Sarkis on the prospective buyers’ plans at the contract stage; the report doesn’t verify work completed after closing. ↩︎2 ↩︎
6. MLS Property Information Network, Inc., Complete Rules and Regulations, §§10.3–10.4 and article XI, checked on November 11th, 2026; 42 U.S.C. §3604(c), 2024 edition; Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 151B, §4(7B), checked on November 11th, 2026. The housing citations identify the advertising provisions. ↩︎
7. MLS Property Information Network, Inc., Assessment and Sales Report for 1215 Main Street, Lynnfield, checked on November 11th, 2026. The report requires a Pinergy sign-in and lists six full bathrooms and one half bathroom, 22 rooms, eight bedrooms, and 1971 under Residential-Multiple Bldgs. The recorded sale is August 7th, 2026, for $3,650,000, book 43558, page 446. Pinergy presents the third-party data without verification or change. ↩︎