Combining his love of cooking with supporting the community of downtown Trenton, New Jersey, has been a focus for Maurice Hallett ’96.
“From the beginning, my restaurant has been a community meeting spot,” says Hallett, who hosts monthly First Friday block parties, catering to Trenton families. “I want to support the people that live in the neighborhoods where I have my businesses. It's important to give back to the community, and I wanted to be a part of revitalizing Trenton.”
Hallett grew up in Trenton with a single mother and six brothers. He was very involved with sports and the local YMCA and began cooking and baking as soon as he was tall enough to reach the stove.
His first restaurant, 1911 Smoke House BBQ, has been serving up comfort food since 2015. It has been consistently named one of New Jersey’s top barbeque restaurants.
He has two New Jersey restaurants in Trenton and Willingboro, a franchise partnership at Newark Liberty International Airport, and a snack bar at Community Park Pool in Princeton. The restaurants offer an extensive menu that includes more than two dozen sauces and a number of vegan options in addition to ribs, wings, and brisket, plus an array of inventive and traditional sides.
Hallett has perfected not only a style of slow cooking that he describes as a cross between North Carolina- and Memphis-style barbeque, but also the perfect recipe for success: great food and drink, a warm yet festive vibe, and a strong commitment to the community. Even during the pandemic, when he could not bring customers into his popular West Front Street restaurant, his catering and takeout businesses were booming.
Leaving Corporate America
Hallett, who was recruited by Lehigh on a basketball scholarship, majored in international careers with a minor in public administration. He studied abroad in Guatemala and enjoyed his time with other adventurous Lehigh students. He was an officer of Kappa Alpha Psi, on the men’s basketball team, and a member of the Black Student Union and the Volunteer House.
“It’s too easy to hang with people similar to you,” he explains. “Take a chance and meet different people; you might cultivate lifelong relationships. I'm still in touch with lots of friends I met at Lehigh.”
Hallett started his career in government service and then left the Trenton area and moved over to General Motors, which allowed him to live in Germany for three years launching vehicles and also do recruiting for Lehigh.
Frustrated with barriers to advancement, Hallett used his passion for cooking to create 1911. “I took many of the tools I learned from General Motors to help me build my own brand.”
Life in Nashville
Hallett and his family live in Nashville to continue with his restaurant business. He and his wife, Tonya, whom he met at Lehigh, have three boys, all in college. One of his sons is majoring in hospitality with a minor in culinary arts and plans to take over the business down the road. Hallett’s brother Reggie runs the day-to-day operations in Trenton while Hallett is in Nashville.
“I am actively looking for the right location for our next venture. Nashville is awesome, and if you haven't been here, put it on your bucket list.”
Still involved with Lehigh basketball, his fraternity, and BALANCE, the minority alumni network, Hallett visits the campus yearly.
If he wasn’t a restaurateur, Hallett would undoubtedly be coaching basketball. “I coached all my boys’ AAU basketball teams,” he says. “Now that they are all off to college, I often dream about starting up a fourth-grade AAU basketball team because [those kids] are still willing to learn the fundamentals.”
But for now, the restaurant business is where Hallett will remain. “The flexibility and the people I meet make it a wonderful business, especially through catering. We get to help people plan important life milestones. It's always rewarding when my food helps put smiles on faces.”
