BLACKSBURG -- When Virginia Tech treasurer Ray Smoot was a Virginia Tech student in 1967, he helped organize a protest against dining services at the school.

In addition to a one-meal boycott of the three cafeterias, protestors carried around a student dressed in a cockroach costume.

Like the one found in the school's pecan pie earlier that year, only larger.

The protest led to some minor changes in dining options -- they brought in a soda machine so students had a beverage option other than milk -- but the food was still terrible.

Two years later, Smoot graduated and joined the Army.

"The food there was considerably better," he said.

How times have changed. This past week Virginia Tech was one of 12 schools nominated for an Ivy Award by Restaurants & Institutions magazine for outstanding food service.

Earlier this month, freshman John Cahill scarfed down a steak in Tech's West End Market -- its swankiest dining center.

Opened in 1999, the eatery is a cross between a big-city food market and sit-down restaurant. Workers shouted out numbers and meals while the smell of grilled meat and steak fries wafted throughout the bustling dining area.

Students walked around with electronic pagers that would notify them when their meal was ready. Large-screen televisions built into the walls were tuned to ESPN.

Ed Spencer, the university's associate vice president of student affairs, said West End does more than $7 million in business a year dishing out lobster, steak, chicken, cold cuts, pasta, burgers and salads from its various food stands. Most meals cost between $3 and $5.50 for students and $4 to $7 for the public. The 1.2 pound lobsters are currently going for $12 for students and $25 for the public.

You wouldn't know it to look at him, but the 133-pound Cahill is one of the school's best customers. Sucking down four to five meals a day this past semester, he went through three meal plans.

"I guess I have, like, a high metabolism," the volunteer firefighter said.

And just three days removed from winter break, Cahill didn't miss his mother's home cooking.

"I wanted to come back to get the food here," he said.

Fifteen years of improvements

While West End is Tech's most obvious departure from the traditional dining halls that were the standard at universities as recently as 10 years ago, it's just a part of a complete overhaul that's been going on at the school for nearly two decades.

Of the 10 dining locations on campus, only one -- Schultz Dining Center -- is still in the mold of the traditional dining hall.

From barbecue to pastries, Tech students have their choice of almost any type of food or beverage.

When Spencer came to Tech 23 years ago, dining services were still "pretty bare-bones," he said.

Changes to Owens Dining Center's four cafeterias began in 1990. Now it houses the top-selling on-campus Chick-fil-A and Pizza Hut in the country. Dietrick Dining Hall was revamped in 2004.

Now "D2" offers a wide variety of choices on the upper level of the dining hall that makes it second only to West End in student popularity. Unlike West End, however, D2 is all-you-can-eat for less than $3 for students on the meal plan. This makes it a favorite stop for football players.

"You'd think they need sideboards on their plates," D2 manager Kelvin Bergsten said. "They graze all over."

Senior Kelly Danoy said she sometimes misses the days when a trip to Dietrick offered a minimum of choices.

"I go to the new Dietrick, and I feel like it's chaotic," she said. "I, like, freak out."

A different palate

Jodi Smith, spokeswoman for the National Association of College and University Food Services, said Tech is usually on the forefront of college dining trends.

The university was a recipient of awards from the group in 2004 and 2005 for special-events dining.

Smith said the university dining industry has become very consumer-driven in the past decade, leading to less regimented dining programs.

"Generation Y students are more versed in just the concept of dining out," she said. "They have a heightened level of experience in terms not only of food quality but also variety."

The past decade has seen an increase in restaurants in college towns. The colleges are often changing in reaction to that, she said.

"They're trying to keep up with and even surpass the quality and ambience they get at the Damon's or the Applebee's ... around the block," she said.

But college's efforts to keep students on campus at mealtime inevitably cause some friction.

As a state entity, Virginia Tech isn't subject to the Blacksburg 5 percent meals tax. With Tech expected to have about $30 million in sales this year, that would add up to $1.5 million.

Blacksburg councilman Don Langrehr admits that the town has no authority to tax the university but said Tech could choose to collect the tax and give the revenues to the town. He compared the university with an off-shore tax haven.

"Obviously those food services compete with the businesses in town," he said. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But we may be hitting on a situation where there's an uneven playing field."

Mike Soriano, owner of Champs Sports Bar and Cafe in downtown Blacksburg and head of the town's restaurant association, said students account for 40 to 50 percent of business during the day and about 85 percent at night.

"The franchises on campus are definitely a lot higher caliber than 10 years ago," he said. "It definitely does pull traffic away from downtown because of the convenience, and they don't pay meal tax on campus so they get an automatic 5 percent discount."

Future expansion

Despite the variety of choices, Spencer hopes the dining program at the school will expand further in the future.

The 10 dining areas on campus cover the area around the residence halls. But Spencer hopes students with classes on the other end of campus, such as business majors, will have a place to eat without having to walk across campus.

Many students on the meal plan eat in Blacksburg restaurants on the weekend. They trek to El Rodeo or Sharkey's sometimes just for the sake of getting off campus.

But the urge to flee campus for food at Tech doesn't compare with what it's like elsewhere.

Junior Robin Griffin said she dreads the prospect of eating on campus when she visits her friends at other schools.

"They come here and are like, 'Oh, let's eat on campus,' " she said.

But Griffin can think of one dining advantage her friends at other schools might have.

"It's not good for the freshman 15 to have all these options of food right at your door."

Staff writer Angela Manese-Lee contributed to this story.