I had just finished my first year of college and needed a summer job.  I walked in because there was a sign in the window, and it was only a block away from my apartment.  Jeff was there and said “we will need stand people next week, come back then.”  A week later, I walked in and said that “I was told to come back this week to do stand work.”  That was the beginning working at Pine hills pizzeria.  I spent that summer rolling out dough in the morning, and selling pizza down at capital park.  By the fall I transitioned into night kitchen work and leaned how to run the store and cash out.  There was always something to learn at the pizzeria, and Jeff had no problem teaching you to do whatever needed to be done.  If we learned how to do it, then he did not have to come in and clean up the mess.    

The pizzeria was a great place to work.  You could pretty much choose what you wanted to do, once you became competent in the position.  So I gravitated to the production side of the kitchen.  Quality was the most important thing.  If the pizza was not right, people could complain, so the dough had to be made right, the sauce has to be right, cheese has to be ground and the supplies prepped, before anyone can make a pizza.  Jeff had the pizzeria running well, when he expanded into chicken wings and subs.  We learned how to make wing sauce which I still make today.  He had a good team running the pizzeria and I believe that gave him the ability to expand.  The first expansion while I was there was the Westmere statalite location.  We supplied the materials, and it ran well.  The next expansion was to the volcano in Troy.   All of this in under 4 years from the day that I started.  He was an amazing entrepreneur. 

As for firsts, there were many.  My first trip to SPAC was in the blue stand van.  Jeff took a bunch of us up to see The Pretenders.  It was a great Show and it demonstrated Jeff’s generosity.  He took care of the employees.  I remember the Subaru which was a fine car for delivering pizza on a snowy night.  That was also the first car that, I was ever in, that went off roading.  He took us to his mother’s house for a good dinner and when we arrived he gave us a tour of the property.  That was the first off road experience for me.  I was also invited to bring some supplies over to the Volcano from Pine Hills Pizzeria, that night I brought my girlfriend “another former employee” Lisa Bell  and we both had  a nice dinner at The volcano.   I now know that we were not the only employees to get those treats.

Lastly, the best gift was that the work at Pine Hills Pizzeria gave me enough money to pay for half of my college expenses between 1984 and 1988.  I earned about $26,000 over those 4 years, and that was exactly half of the cost of my education at ACP.  That, and understanding the way to manufacture and manage an organization has served me well in the 28 years since I was at the Pizzeria.  My career in R&D and manufacturing pharmaceuticals would not have been the same, without the training that I received at Pine Hills Pizzeria.   Thank you Jeff, you are an amazing teacher.    Larry Tabor

My ex, Lori, and I  worked for Jeff. She worked the kitchen and ended up managing Pine Hills, and I managed when I wasn't delivering (always trying to beat out Harry Curtis, the best Pizza deliverer/Ex cab driver I'd ever seen!). When it came time for me to graduate and we were leaving for Virginia, Jeff made us a nice dinner at the new restaurant in Troy,(one of the photos posted) and prersonally served us, as a "thank you" for our years of service.  I really enjoyed it then, but I didn't truly realize how much of an act of service and gratitude it was until years later.  That was quite a special thing to do, especially for a couple of college kids.  As I said in my tribute, Jeff had a huge heart.

One other time, Jeff fired me! The reason was because I told him I was going home for Christmas break and I was supposed to work (I probably didn't communicate it properly). So he fired me on the spot! Ha!  But when I came back, I went to him with my hat in my hand and he promptly hired me back, with a smile on his face!  We both kinda laughed it off that evening with a pitcher or two in Frank's Living Room around the corner - a place we visited quite frequently!

I could go on and on, as I worked 30+ hours a week for Jeff most of my college career. As you can imagine, there are lot's of other stories.  I still make pizza and wings, just as Jeff taught me to do. I've told my children  (now in college themselves) about my experiences there, and my wife has seen the place where we used to romp around first hand.  As i mentioned in my tribute, I'm grateful to have known Jeff. Whether he realized it or not, he had significant influence on me and many others as he provided a flexible place for us to earn income while in college - even feeding us when we were there (I used to eat 6+ slices a night while delivering!). With Jeff, we worked hard and we played hard, and paid our way through school.  Good times, fascilitated by a good man.