The Park Record
Hearth and Hill, Hill’s Kitchen centrally located in walkable Salt Lake City neighborhood
After years of planning, perseverance and a few unexpected setbacks, Hill Top Hospitality has opened new Hearth and Hill and Hill’s Kitchen restaurants in Salt Lake City’s Sugar House neighborhood, launching both shops just weeks apart.
“From day one when we first opened Hearth and Hill Park City, shortly after that, our goal was to grow and have scale as a company,” said Brooks Kirchheimer who co-owns the restaurant group with his father.
But, like many stories with Hill Top Hospitality’s endeavors, the road to the opening in Sugar House wasn’t easy.
The plan was to open the two restaurants two years early, but the building in Sugar House burned down in October 2022, said Kirchheimer.
“I’ll never forget that night I was up till 3:30 in the morning like, ‘What should I do?’” he said.
Obviously, that caused major delays, and while Kichheimer and his father, co-founder of Hill Top, had the opportunity to walk away from that lease, they decided to stick with their landlord partners through the rebuild.
“Zero hesitation, my dad and I both said nope. We’re in it to win it,” he said.
Kirchheimer said that a positive attitude has always been a strength of their brand.
“You can — I say this because I have two young kids — throw a temper tantrum and moan about it and be upset, which is all going to make the matter worse. Or, you say, ‘All right, I’m going to take this head on, and we’re going to find a solution,’” he said.
It’s a philosophy that’s helped Hill Top weather everything from the fire in Sugar House, to car crashes and flooding at their Park City locations. So having a solid team on the same page makes all the difference, Kirchheimer said. After the fire, it was their dream to sit down in the newly rebuilt restaurants and share a meal, finally realized when Hearth and Hill opened in March. The original plan was just to open Hearth and Hill, but with more time and a request from the landlords, they decided to move in a Hill’s Kitchen, too.
