Ham Jones swapped security for dream

Ham Jones had security. He had a successful career at IBM and company stock. What he also had was a dream of owning a restaurant and marina.

So, Jones gave up the security of a corporate job and used his savings and IBM stock to buy waterfront land and build a marina, followed by the iconic Seafood Shack restaurant in Cortez. The latter grew to a 650- seat restaurant that, at its peak, was one of the top 10 grossing independent restaurants in Florida. For four decades, he owned the restaurant and surrounding marina until last October, when he sold the properties for $4 million to Canadian developer Vandyk Group of Cos.

That he had no restaurant experience was not a deterrent.

“Basically, he said he took what he learned from IBM, which was to think,” said Jones’ wife, Lorraine. 

Hamlin “Ham” Jones, of Longboat Key, died Feb. 14. He was 81.

Born Oct. 18, 1933, in Gulfport, Miss., Jones was a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Korean War in Germany. He attended the University of Florida on a GI Bill and was a lifelong Gators fan.

Jones became a computer programmer for IBM who worked with NASA and was responsible for developing the computer program that launched the first man on the moon.

“He was quite a brilliant young man,” said Woody Wolverton, a friend of 27 years who got to know Jones as his stockbroker. Jones later worked on Wolverton’s campaign for the Longboat Key Town Commission. “He was a self-made man and very patriotic. I think he made enough money to buy some land up on Cortez, and he built up quite a dynasty.” 

Jones was an avid supporter of the local community, according to past Longboat Key Chamber President Andrew Vac, who befriended Jones after approaching him about hosting a chamber event on his paddle wheeler, “The Showboat.” 

“Ham was very gracious,” Vac said. “He wouldn’t charge per person. He would basically give it for free, but he’d have a cash bar….He was just very community-oriented.”

Jones was popular at local drinking spots throughout his more than four decades on the Key: the old Holiday Inn, Buccaneer Inn and Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, as well as Pattigeorges and, most recently, Lazy Lobster of Longboat.

Jones got to know his future wife, Lorraine, when she worked at the former Intercity Bank, in Bradenton, and he would call her to discuss his business loans. He finally met her in person at a retirement party for Lorraine’s boss that was held at the Seafood Shack. They were a couple for 22 years but waited more than 14 years before marrying in December 2006.

Lazy Lobster owner Michael Garey got to know Jones as a close friend in 2009, after Garey opened Lazy Lobster of Longboat and Jones became a happy hour regular, who always sat with Lorraine in the right-most two seats of the bar, sipping Dewar’s Scotch and soda.

On the rare occasion Garey ran out of Dewar’s Scotch, he would call Jones, who would bring it with him to happy hour.

“He was a southern gentleman, a polite, straight-shooter who commanded the respect of the entire bar,” Garey said.

But beyond the bar, Jones commanded respect in the restaurant business — something Garey built for Jones back when he was a child dining at the restaurant.

“I had no idea I’d be going into the restaurant business as a career,” Garey said. “I could remember how big it was and how everything just hummed along in such a reasonable fashion. It impressed me even as a kid.”

Garey appreciated the magnitude of owning a 650-seat restaurant even more after he built his own career in the business.

“It’s very hard to be very big and very good,” Garey said. “When Ham was running (Seafood Shack), it was very big and very good.”

Lorraine Jones attested to the rarity of individuals such as her husband. 

“He took that money, and he took a chance,” she said. “He was one of the very few people who lived his dream.”

Jones was preceded in death by his son, Hamlin Jr. He is survived by his wife, Lorraine, of Longboat Key; daughters Kimberly Trombley, of St. Petersburg, Adele Jones, of Atlanta, and Nancy Pronko, of San Diego; sister, Julia Matter, of West Palm Beach; three grandchildren; and former wife Barbara Jones, of Atlanta.