Rutt’s Hut

Rutt’s Hut is a historic roadside restaurant at 417 River Road in Clifton, New Jersey, best known for its deep-fried hot dogs known as “Rippers”. The business was established in 1928 by Royal “Abe” Rutt and his wife, Anna, who originally operated it as a roadside stand. The Rutt family sold the restaurant to a group of four partners in 1974. Over the decades, it has retained much of its traditional appearance, including its prominent neon sign, while expanding into a restaurant with a separate bar and takeaway counter. Its signature hot dogs are fried until their casings split, and are traditionally served with a homemade mustard-based relish.

Rutt’s Hut has appeared in The Housemaid (2025) and Crystal Lake (2026–). Both productions used the restaurant’s recognisable exterior and its surrounding premises, although the building serves different purposes in their respective stories.

In The Housemaid (2025), Rutt’s Hut appears early in the film during a sequence involving Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney), who is struggling to find employment and has been living in her car. After an interview for a housemaid position with Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried), Millie assumes that she will not be offered the job and seeks alternative employment, asking for a job application at a roadside restaurant. Rutt’s Hut provides the location for this sequence, with its exterior, parking area and distinctive sign visible on screen. Millie subsequently tries to sleep in her car but is approached by a police officer who tells her she cannot stay there. Shortly afterwards, she receives an unexpected telephone call from Nina offering her the housemaid position.

In Crystal Lake (2026–), the Friday the 13th prequel series, Rutt’s Hut represents the fictional Bronco Beef Pit, a roadside restaurant in the town of Crystal Lake during the early 1970s. The restaurant features prominently in the third episode, “Part III”, when Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini) visits Valerie Snell, the mother of Jason’s friend Grace, at her workplace. Pamela confronts Valerie over her treatment of her daughter, initially attempting to persuade her to be more understanding. The conversation turns hostile when Valerie makes cruel remarks about Jason and Pamela’s abilities as a mother. Pamela attacks Valerie with a meat tenderiser before forcing her face into a deep fryer and killing her. She then sets the restaurant on fire. Rutt’s Hut was adapted for the fictional business, with filming taking place inside and outside the Clifton restaurant in August 2025.

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