"Ah! Frat boys in pink tights, doing aerobics and yoga," Jack Chao exclaimed energetically, making the bananas that he had been peeling jump by smacking his palm onto the countertop. "That's one of the interesting things I've seen around here."
It was 5:30 p.m. and the owner of Quenchers, the juice bar at Wilson Recreation Center, had been working ceaselessly since 7:30 that morning. Still, he was bursting with energy--almost like one of the yogurt power bars he had on display--his hands always busy and his legs never static. Chao attributed the zest for his job to his interesting customers.
"I enjoy the conversations with people that come here everyday.... I get to interact with students," he said. "I also try to speak with my customers in their native language--if I can. I try to make an initial approach."
Chao, who grew up in Taiwan and Korea, speaks Mandarin, Korean and English--the latter which he picked up when he moved with his parents to North Carolina at a young age. Although he grew up watching the Blue Devils, Chao later went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Working at Quenchers, right next to the home of the die-hard Cameron Crazies then, is a bit ironic, but the students appear to have made a positive impact on Chao.
"My first impression of Duke was that it was full of preppy, nerdy kids," he said with a grin, gesturing with a banana. "But you have to remember this was my impression in high school. Now I see that they work hard [and] play hard. They're great kids."
A Carolina graduate in the midst of Dukies hardly seems plausible, but a Tar Heel with a Duke basketball poster not used as a dartboard is even rarer. Chao is this very anomaly and as a testament to this fact, an unadulterated men's basketball poster hangs above the counter.
"I love Coach K, I love Duke basketball," Chao said, when quizzed about basketball. But with a chuckle, he added, "But loyalties are loyalties after all."
His allegiance to the university down the road, however, did not stop Chao from coming to the Gothic Wonderland when he was recruited by the Duke Dining Service in 1997--not for the juice and fresh fruit most students associate him with, but for Chinese food.
When Dining Services began its quest seven years ago to expand culinary options by including more international cuisine, Chao was working at his family business, a Chinese restaurant in the University's vicinity. Dining Services sent students to over 10 different restaurants in the Triangle area--and when they all came to the consensus that Chao's was the best in town, he was brought over to Duke to start Han's Fine Chinese Cuisine.
Although the contract for the on-campus Chinese eatery ended in 2000, giving way to The Loop, Chao kept busy with his other University dining ventures--first with Trent Dormitory's Grace's Café, which opened in 1998, and then Quenchers, which was offered to him to manage six months after its establishment.
As for its name, Chao claims no responsibility.
"Another guy was running [Quenchers] when it opened at the same time as Wilson Recreational Center. I took it over when he just gave it up," he said.
During his time with Quenchers, Chao has been doing quite well. For the last five years, revenues have increased annually, anywhere from 20 to 40 percent. This year, he expects the profits to grow by 40 percent--an increase that he attributes to the new products he introduced--but this high percentage is not an easy task to maintain.
"[In addition to] the popular items--Chocolate Elvis, Blue Devil, fruit boxes and the Strawberriana smoothie--we also brought in trail mixes.... and fresh fruit. No other store has a wide range of fruit as we do," he said proudly. "However, the place I have has limited space and trying to use the space and come up with new products is always a difficulty."
Still, Chao seems to be dedicated to his work. Even on days when the weather puts classes on hold and makes most people want to stay in bed, Chao and his girlfriend Phyllis, who arrived from Taiwan a few months ago, still willingly come to campus to open the juice bar for the community.
"We're part of the essential services here. You know, on every snow day so far, I never even thought about not coming in. It's part of our job. We can't leave the students without anything to eat," he said. Phyllis nodded shyly in agreement in the background, sorting dried strawberries into neat plastic cartons of trail mix. "[We] just got into my car and carefully drove the 15 miles here. No hesitations." If Chao is always running his store seven days a week, even on snow days, then when does he take a break and wind down?
"Wind down? I never wind down--I have two restaurants to run after all. It's always on my mind," he laughed. "The only time I'd truly wind down is the summer... and I'm looking forward to getting a break."
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