Just shy of a year after the Mountain Top Café near the confluence of state highways 2 and 138  was forced to shut down for nine months because of a fire, its significance as a celebrated establishment near the gateway between San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County was marked with a ribbon cutting by the Phelan Chamber of Commerce on January 4.
Fire department logs show that a distress call from the restaurant went out at 5:15 p.m. on January 13, 2012 and that firefighters were en route to the scene at 5:16:39 p.m. Four engines, two from Wrightwood and two from Phelan, including a water tender and units that were diverted from a vehicle fire at Sheep Creek Road and Highway 138, responded to what was described as an electrical fire in the roof. The fire was confined to the dining area due to an aggressive interior attack by firefighters and the blaze was put down by 5:28 p.m. The Gas Company was on scene at 6:06 p.m.
Damage was extensive enough to keep the café shuttered until October, when it reopened.
The Mountain Top Café was constructed in 1940 by John Lovett, who also built the Mountain Top Service Station in 1937.