Jeff Hoagland: The man behind the VT Qdoba

If you don’t know him by name, you know him by his smiling face. Jeff Hoagland, Operational Manager at the Virginia Tech Qdoba, is most often seen making burritos and interacting with students.

Recently, I sat down with Jeff to talk about how he went from student to dining services manager, why he chose Virginia Tech twice, and how he views his job as a privilege.

Bad beginnings

Back in the 1980s, when Jeff began college, Virginia Tech wasn’t the phenomenon it is today. In fact, Jeff barely knew that the school existed. He wanted to major in physics, and was accepted to Tech, Penn State, and NC State. His dad bribed him with a car to stay in state, so Jeff became a Hokie.

Jeff was the typical freshman, but worse. He told me that his favorite things to do were play pool and chase girls, with some alcohol involved. This naturally led to a terrible first year – QCA: .6 to be exact. In Jeff’s words, “I was just out to have fun.”

After having a meeting with school officials, Jeff decided to attend summer school. While he did better that summer and the semesters afterward, the improvement wasn’t significant. He called himself “a small fish in a big pond,” saying that he never had excelled at “school,” and probably never would.

A part of campus

That fall semester, Jeff began working for dining services on campus to give more structure to his life. He loved that he was becoming a real part of campus and was doing well at his job. It wasn’t much longer until Jeff became a Student Manager at Owen’s Dining Hall. He was a part of the team that transitioned Owen’s from a dining hall to a food court, and he helped open Hokie Grill back when it was a burger place. It seemed that Jeff had found his niche.

Moving on

In what would be his last semester at Virginia Tech, Jeff was working full time with dining services, full time at a local Cracker Barrel, enrolled in 18 credit hours, and maintaining a B average. His manager at Cracker Barrel saw his talent in food service, and offered him an opportunity he couldn’t pass up: manager training.

He dropped out of college and moved to Tennessee, where he was trained by Cracker Barrel in management. Jeff opened Cracker Barrels for a long time before relocating to Roanoke, about an hour away from Blacksburg.

Once a Hokie, always a Hokie

When I asked him how in the world he got back to Virginia Tech, he told me the most hilariously perfect story. Back when spam emails were still prevalent, he accidentally opened one that installed a virus on his computer. This virus then sent an email to everyone in his contact list, including his former dining services manager. This former manager sent him an email back that said something along the lines of, “Hey Jeff, sorry I couldn’t open your email. It was spam. But it’s good to hear from you! If you’re interested, dining services is hiring a new manager for D2.” Jeff applied and interviewed for the position, but didn’t get the job. He was currently selling life insurance and hadn’t worked in food service for quite a few years. So, he got a job managing a local Applebees. Eventually, another management position at D2 opened up, and Jeff was a Hokie once again.

But how did he end up moving from the least trafficked dining hall to the most popular one? Jeff told me that the original Operational Manager for Qdoba was struggling because it is such a high-volume restaurant. Jeff had plenty of experience with both franchises (13 years at Cracker Barrel, 2 years at Applebees) and high volume production (7 years with on-campus dining services), so he was offered the position. Jeff says, “It was a promotion, but I didn’t care about the promotion.” He took the job because he got weekends off to go to church and be with his family, a very uncommon privilege in the food industry.

Uncle Jeff

I have been privileged enough to have known Jeff since I was 13 years old. In fact, I’ve called him “Uncle Jeff” for years. Since becoming a student, my friends on campus have started calling him Uncle Jeff too, because that’s who he is. He really does exude warmth and hospitality, the kind of comfort a student needs at their home-away-from-home. You come for the burritos, and you’re greeted with a smile and a genuine interest in how your life is going. He told me that his main goal is to make a positive impact on the campus, whether it be hanging encouraging posts in the employee areas, praying for the students and wage workers, or treating a student to free chips and guac every so often. “Food is secondary to me,” he said. “I love the students.”

One story Jeff shared was that a girl came through the line looking especially down, so he asked her if she was doing okay. She said she was just having a rough day, so he paid for her lunch. She came back a few days later to bring him an obituary of a close friend who had recently passed away. She told him that his generosity gave her just enough of a boost to get her through the day. Jeff emphasized that this is why he loves what he does: “We might be the only smile they genuinely see every day.”

When I asked if he saw himself at dining services forever, he responded, “I’ll be there as long as God wants me.” He told me that his dream is to run a food truck for the needy, but in the meantime, he’d be thrilled to stay at Virginia Tech.

Hokie Nation

I asked Jeff a question that most students get asked quite often: why Virginia Tech? The answer was easy: “I took a $15,000 pay cut for the culture.” He said that they students are a rare combination of “the hardest workers and the smartest people around.” His favorite things about campus are the spirit of community and the embodiment of Ut Prosim, that I may serve. He spoke highly of the team of students currently working to solve the Flint water crisis and his former student employees who are now with the Peace Corps.

“They’re not the exception; they’re the rule. All I really want is to be a part of something like that.”