“To me, that was a way to potentially obtain things that, unfortunately, my parents couldn't afford.”
As a young man, Allen was attracted to the quality of the owner’s life and saw the industry as a ladder up. “The owner of the restaurant was very, very successful,” he recalled. Not only did Allen grow up near the iconic New Jersey beachfront city, but he played a major role in opening the property that used to occupy the space: the former Trump Taj Mahal resort and casino.Īllen was introduced to hospitality through a teenage job, helping out a small restaurant on the outskirts of Atlantic City. The opening of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, N.J., in June marked a homecoming of sorts for James Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International.
