The Top filled with balloons July 13 as a crowd of people waited outside to be let in for the 24th anniversary of the restaurant’s opening.
General manager Callie Seip greeted customers as doors opened at 4 p.m. People dined at wooden tables, couples conversed at the bar and staff tended to diners.
Birthday festivities included an annual hunt for tiny plastic golden babies.
“We hide little golden babies all around the restaurant as a scavenger hunt for people to find,” Seip said. “It’s definitely a funny idea that evolved into something greater than that.”
Events director Bailey Bruce said the origin of the tradition began with the restaurant’s founders. The reason behind it is unknown.
The event included giveaways and other festivities, one of which benefited We Rock Gainesville, a week-long camp for women, gender-marginalized and nonbinary youth aged 10- to 17-years-old.
“We’ve got a DJ starting up later,” Bruce said. “We’ve got karaoke going on late night, and then we have a silent auction to benefit We Rock Gainesville going today.”
Kitchen manager Terry Mercer said the event provided an opportunity for a more laid-back work environment.
“Luckily I was able to focus on just making sure everything is quality and that we have a good time,” Mercer said.
Seip and Bruce commended The Top for its role in the community.
“We really love to push to people that this is like your hometown place to hang out,” Seip said. “You can come have a really nice dinner here, or you can just come and hang out at the back bar for five hours.”
Despite her passion for the community aspect of the restaurant, Seip said she is hesitant to call the restaurant a family.
“I hate to use the word family,” she said. “[It] got co-opted by corporations trying to copy what we have here, but any situation can go down here. We have no shortage of crazy situations.”
Mercer agreed with this sentiment.
“[It’s] lowkey one of the best places in town,” Mercer said. “I wouldn’t even say probably, it’s obvious. For me, it’s been the best place I’ve ever worked.”
Contact Ben Nielsen at bnielsen@alligator.org. Follow him on X @benknielsen.
Ben Nielsen is The Alligator’s Multimedia Editor. He formerly worked as The Alligator's videographer, and began working as multimedia editor in January 2024. He specializes in visual storytelling and manages photos, graphics and videos.
