Gabe Maroon - Entrepreneur

By John Maroon

I wanted to take a minute this afternoon as I wind down my day at work to pay tribute to my dad, Gabe Maroon. Dad was a true entrepreneur. He had to stop going to school after the 6th grade when his dad passed. Up in North Jersey he quickly started selling cars on the gas station that his father left behind to support his mom, sister and three brothers.

That quickly morphed into a car dealership that he gave to his younger brothers and they turned around and made it one of the most successful dealerships on the east coast that is still going strong today.

He then went on to start a number of businesses (too many to mention and almost all were very successful). One of the most notable ones is a legendary New Jersey eatery called The Hot Grill. Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Hot Grill opening its doors. It looks pretty much the same today as it did when he owned it and I can still taste those “hot dogs all the way”. A few years after opening The Hot Grill dad sold it to the guys who still own it today. I remember when they sought me, my brother and sister out at dad’s funeral in 2001 and told us how much they respected and appreciated him and what he did for them. It meant the world to us.

When I opened Maroon PR in 2006 I was scared and my brother insured me that we all had dad’s “entrepreneurial gene” and it would be fine… he was right. And today my brother, my sister and I all have successful businesses.

Thanks mom and dad for all that you did for us. We miss you both everyday but we know that you loved us and cared for us deeply…and you gave us the ability and the nerve, to go out on our own and be successful.

John Maroon is President of Maroon PR.  Contact him at John@MaroonPR.com.