'He never gave up'

SOMERSWORTH — Since its opening in 1986, Hilltop Fun Center has been widely known in the Seacoast for being a hub for engaging activities and games for families. On June 4, its founder Steve Cote died of Stage IV kidney cancer at age 65, after his eight-year battle with the illness.

Steve started Hilltop Fun Center in Somersworth with his wife, Sue Cote, when they first bought the space that was a mini golf course, which, she recalled, wasn't in the best condition. Immediately Steve began to renovate.

Sue said Steve built almost everything at Hilltop from the ground up, including a new mini golf course, as well as the go-cart track. “He subcontracted everything and hired laborers to help him out. He did that whole process himself.”

Brian Cote, Steve’s brother and current owner of Hilltop, said Steve also designed the batting cages, the mini golf course, and all four go-cart tracks himself, along with putting in the labor to build them.

“If you go to Hilltop now, the only thing that’s original to when they bought it in ‘86 are some of the blades of grass on the driving range, and that’s about it,” said Brian.

Sue said Steve was originally drawn to starting the business not because he was passionate about mini golf, but because he had an independent mind and wanted to work for himself, in whatever form it would take.

“One morning, we were in the kitchen both reading the newspaper and he comes over and says, ‘What about mini golf?’ and I go, ‘What about it?’ and he says, ‘What if we opened a mini golf business?’ That’s when it started,” said Sue.

Brian said in 1988 Steve and Sue opened the new mini golf course, and it was met with a lot of popularity, with lines of 75 to 100-plus people.

In 1991, Brian started working at Hilltop at age 21, when they had opened to go-cart track to the public.

“We’d have lines of up to 140 people every Saturday night. It was crazy, go-carts that were up kept and safe were new to the area. There were none prior for over six years,” he said.

From then on, Steve, Sue, and Brian ran the business, but each had their own roles.

Sue was inside doing front-of-house work and interacting with customers, Brian was the general manager and would oversee employees and general daily tasks, and Steve would be behind the scenes making sure everything was in order.

“We all worked well together. We had our roles, and we stayed out of each other’s lanes. We never fought at work, never fought at home. We were with each other 24/7, but I liked it,” said Sue.

Sue said Steve was never a big people-person, but as the years went on, he interacted more with the public. Even though Steve typically chose to stay behind the scenes, Sue described him as having a large and impactful presence.

“He just had that persona. He’d walk into a room and immediately fill it,” she said.

When Steve got sick, his oncologist had recommended to stop working to relieve stress, and in 2010 he sold Hilltop to Brian.

“I don’t know if he was ready to hand off the business, but when it was over you could tell he was relieved. He still worked every day for as long as he could, and basically acted as a CFO once he retired, and I’d still ask him questions,” said Brian.

Brian said the transition into owner wasn’t too difficult, because of his 20 years being general manager, but he began to understand how much work Steve had as owner once he took over the position.

“Towards the end of my GM position I felt like a senior in high school, and when Steve handed Hilltop off to me and I bought the place I felt like a freshman in college,” Brian said.

Sue emphasized how healthy Steve was throughout his life, and that Steve put in as much effort as possible to remain engaged in his job for as long as he could.

“He never gave up. He wanted to live, but unfortunately his body couldn’t take it anymore,” she said.

The Cote family plans to have a “celebration of life” gathering at the Governor’s Inn in Rochester sometime in September for friends and family of Steve.

“Hilltop is his legacy. He had a heart that was bigger than mine; he’d give and give. He never said no,” said Brian.