Proprietor,
Wackadoo's Grub & Brew
Wackadoo's Grub & Brew
q: What do you do?
a: Come to work and have fun. I hang out and talk with people at our full-service restaurant located on the UCF campus. We've been open for 13 years and serve 800 people a day, often 400 in a single hour at lunch. I manage the day-to-day operations including catering and events. At one point I had nine locations and 1200 employees, but was stressed out with all the traveling. I chose to have one restaurant that's pretty much perfect. I'm very happy.q: What's your favorite part of the job?
a: The campus environment. I'm like a student that never grew up since I never had to leave UCF. I enjoy mentoring the students. At any given time, we employ 75 UCF students, including several from Rosen College. No day is the same and it's like I'm the quarterback calling the plays so the students can deal with different situations. For instance, today we had a reservation for 15 but 40 people showed up, and the cook and a server were hours late. I help the students navigate what can seem like quicksand.q: What's the greatest challenge?
a: Consistency. Many people eat here 3-5 times a week. We know what they're going to order before they even sit down. They want it to taste and look the same as last time they ordered it. Ensuring that the service and food quality is always the same can be difficult when dealing with a large number of student employees.q: Do you stay in touch with any other UCF hospitality alums?
a: Lots of them, especially Mark Eppers '93 and the ones who have worked at Wackadoo's. John Giordano '94 lives in San Diego but we still get together when he comes to Florida for Bike Week. I'm still in touch with professor Bob Ashley.q: Outside work...you're most likely to be seen?
a: On campus at all kinds of events. Wackadoo's also has season tickets for UCF Baseball and Football. In my quiet time, I'm home on the ranch relaxing or on my Four Wheeler, where no one can reach me by cell phone. I have cows, horses, cats, a dog and share a pot-bellied pig with a neighbor.q: Your biggest accomplishment since graduating, outside your career?
a: I've achieved the ability to give back. I serve on the board of the UCF Alumni Association. I exclusively hire UCF students and train them to be successful. I appreciate my degree and with all my professors did for me. They would expect me to give back to today's students and I'm glad to do it.q: How did UCF prepare you for what you do?
a: Courses like Hospitality Financial Accounting gave me the tools for problem-solving. I was especially inspired by professors Bob Ashley, Stephen LeBruto and Bill Quain. Classes covering liquor liability and business law were relevant, and eye-opening.q: How could the hospitality program have been better?
a: At the time I attended, the material was very dated. It's critical to have people currently working in the industry speak in classes. For instance, the trend now is vegetarian food that tastes amazing. This is different than what was in style even last year. Someone like me could come speak in the Quantity Food Prep course and explain what's happening in real-life restaurants, because textbooks could never keep up.q: A UCF memory?
a: I literally create new UCF memories every day, whether talking with people at Wackadoo's, traveling with UCF friends to the game in Austin last month, or watching UCF beat Houston. From my time as a student, I'll never forget a Hospitality Marketing class I had with Hank Melton. We literally spent three days straight cold calling on I-Drive businesses to sell hotel packages. His philosophy was: "Here's the fire, now get in it."q: Favorite meal in Orlando?
a: A ribeye cooked by me on the grill in my backyard. Sitting on my porch overlooking the pasture, with a steak, salad and baked potato....no restaurant can beat it.q: On your iPod?
a: I consider music to be background noise since I listen to it all day and evening at Wackadoo's. I have satellite radio and listen to all genres from country to gospel. Guests at the restaurant want to feel welcomed and know the owner, so I make it a point to know all kinds of music and T.V. shows. I can have a conversation with anyone.q: Little known fact about you?
a: There was a month during college that to pay the bills, I worked full-time at a motorcycle shop from 9-5 p.m. then straight to work at Sears from 5-9 p.m., then to UPS from 2-7 a.m. I don't relate to students who tell me they need to miss shifts because they have to study. Other jobs I've held include being the assistant coach of the UCF Women's Volleyball team for three years. I was a professional motocross racer. I was a rancher with 100 herd of cattle. I worked at Hooters. I traveled around the U.S. promoting fairs. I even worked as a Union teamster; I had special certification to go inside nuclear reactors around the country.
