Jeffery P. Hazell ’83, ’10 Hon.

Jeffery P. Hazell is a prominent Florida restauranteur and seafood entrepreneur.

Expertise

Mr. Hazell owns and operates the Boston Lobster Feast, two popular seafood restaurants in the Orlando area, and is the founder of the Bar Harbor Lobster Co., Florida’s largest wholesale seafood company.

In 2017, Mr. Hazell sold the assets of the wholesale company to Performance Food Group, the nation’s second-largest broadline food distributor. After his five year non-compete was up, he started a new wholesale seafood distribution company, operating as “Boston Wholesale Seafood”.

Mr. Hazell started Bar Harbor Lobster Co. in the garage of his home in 1986, three years after graduating from the University of New Haven. He opened the first Boston Lobster Feast in 1991. Throughout his 39-year career, he has owned and operated seven restaurants, acquired two wholesale seafood companies, and owned a pair of award-winning food trucks specializing in lobster rolls.

Service

Mr. Hazell has made a transformational philanthropic commitment that will support the renovation of the University's Hazell Center, which is dedicated in his honor.

Home to the University's men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball teams, The Hazell Center also hosts large-scale University and community programs. The upgraded facility will include renovated locker rooms; increased seating capacity and new viewing areas in the area; additional team meeting space and coaches’ office; and an upgraded lobby honoring past Charger greats and championship teams.

Education

Mr. Hazell earned a degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management from the University of New Haven in 1983, where he was a member of the football team. He received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration from the University in 2010.

Personal

“If I hadn’t gone to the University of New Haven, I wouldn’t be where I am in life,” Mr. Hazell says. “Now I want to help the students at the University as much as I can.”