Hillsborough's Hot Tin Roof Announces Plans to Close on April 30

A downtown Hillsborough bar is set to shutter its doors after more than a decade of business.

The Hot Tin Roof shared on Facebook Tuesday it’s planning to permanently close on Tuesday, April 30 — sharing a two-week notice for patrons and community members to visit the bar at 115 West Margaret Lane. The post thanked the people Hot Tin Roof’s owners and staff have met over “11 long and fun years.”

“It saddens us to write this, but after 11 long years – Hot Tin Roof is shutting its doors,” read Tuesday’s message on Facebook. “Thank you to all the regulars, the ‘this is our first time in’ customers, our past employees, all of our current employees, and everyone who has had made an impact on what The Hot Tin Roof ends as. We appreciate [and] love you all!!”

The business opened in 2013 under an ownership group including Mark Bateman, who continues to own and operate Hot Tin Roof today. He was later joined by Vince Tesoro and later Kim Tesoro, who took over co-ownership with Bateman. Tesoro died last July after fighting a cancer diagnosis, but her estate still co-owns the bar with Bateman, according to the News of Orange County.

Hot Tin Roof was known for attracting community members with its outdoor seating, variety of locally-themed drinks, and live music. But the business’ clientele became a hot topic in 2021 as some customers shared concerns about members of the Proud Boys — a right-wing extremist group that the Southern Poverty Law Center designates as a white supremacy and nationalist organization — frequenting the bar and wearing the group’s gear. A patron shared an open letter to INDY Week about their experience, which led it to garner widespread attention. Hot Tin Roof’s leadership later shared on its Facebook page that it would update its rules to “absolutely prohibit anyone from wearing or bringing to our business any kind of insignia, emblems, etc. which represents any kind of hate group, including specifically the Proud Boys.”

Controversy around the bar preceded the high-profile incident too, as the bar remained open during some of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared to other businesses — in part due to its ample outdoor seating. Hot Tin Roof’s live music also led to the Town of Hillsborough updating its noise ordinance laws in 2021 to better attempt a balance between downtown businesses’ and nearby residents’ needs.

In its final days, Hot Tin Roof said it plans to have several live bands and DJs performing at the bar, and will hold its typical trivia and karaoke nights.

“Let’s make these last two weeks and absolute party,” said Tuesday’s social media post. “Come say goodbye, hello, & maybe catch Mark working behind the bar a time or two!”

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Hillsborough’s Hot Tin Roof Announces Plans to Close on April 30

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