Photo courtesy of Mahika Kukday.
By Mahika Kukday
At peak hours in The Nest, around 7 p.m., the voice of one man in a yellow t-shirt stands out.
Chances are, he’s telling an animated story about one of his very specific life experiences to a group of students who just entered, hurriedly asking what they’re going to eat only to propose a counter-recommendation seconds later, and then saying something about New York and running off to high-five someone else.
Meet Raymond Heffernan III – or as he’s known on campus, “Ray from The Nest.”
In November 2023, Heffernan joined the University of South Florida St. Petersburg dining team as a supervisor. Since then, he has quickly become well-loved amongst students for his hospitality, conversational skills, and, of course, his trademark slightly-scathing-but-well-meaning sense of upstate humor.
“We’re the best people. It’s the best place. And that’s obvious,” Heffernan told The Crow’s Nest, when asked about his New York upbringing. “As time evolved, we just became smarter than everybody else.”
In 2013, he was working with the University of Pittsburgh’s dining services. When his parents moved to Tarpon Springs in the same year, Heffernan hated coming to visit Florida.
“We were ski people, cold weather people,” he said.
However, a few more trips – especially the one to St. Petersburg – had him sold on the Sunshine State.
Heffernan then transferred to William and Mary for five years, a time he remembers very fondly. Finally, in 2021, he made his way to the Sunshine City where he “always wanted to be.”
The New York native’s USF journey began at The Hub in Tampa, where he started working in August 2023. In November, he moved to the St. Petersburg campus.
Reflecting on the thousands of students he interacted with throughout his career in university dining services, Heffernan let out a hearty laugh and said, “I decided not to have kids, and God put me in this job, so now I have all these kids of my own. And the good thing is, it’s almost like being divorced and I can give you to my wife after 10 p.m. at night.”
Photo courtesy of Mahika Kukday
This signature comedic style has earned the supervisor the affection of students across campus.
Giovanna ‘Gigi’ Belissario is a senior at the St. Petersburg campus, and a frequent diner at The Nest. Belissario is a New Jersey native and said that her first interaction with Heffernan was easy and familiar, because she could immediately tell he was from the north.
“One of my favorite memories of Ray is when he’d prepared sugar covered strawberries as a surprise for me. Little did he know, I was having a very rough day, and his act of kindness made my mood turn 180,” Belissario said.
Heffernan remembered the detail about the strawberries for an early conversation he had shared with Belissario, about their love for their Italian grandmothers and fruit tossed in sugar.
While chatting with The Crow’s Nest, Heffernan proudly shared some family photos and reminisced on growing up in a “very Italian household.”
“I never wanted to cook, that’s not my thing. My mother would cook every night,” said Heffernan.
In his position at The Nest, he sticks to front-of-house work, which allows him to interact with students and cater to their needs.
However, that doesn’t stop him from occasionally peeking into the kitchen and ensuring that everything is running smoothly. The key to his campus stardom is Heffernan’s restaurant-style customer service, which, students report, makes them feel appreciated and welcome.
“There’s a girl Kayla that comes in and she’s like ‘I don’t know what I want.’ And I’m like, let me just make you something. And now she loves it, calls it ‘The Ray Special,’” Heffernan said.
When his shift begins, around 1 p.m., his main priority is to get out into the front of house floor and check that everything is running smoothly. Even when The Nest is busy, Heffernan can be seen tending to students personally and asking for their opinions on the quality of the food.
“He likes to get things done. The Nest needed a determined and hardworking figure to increase the overall quality,” Belissario said.
Outside of his role on campus, Heffernan is always up for an adventure. He can be often found at St. Peterburgs’s famous Dog Bar or dancing at Good Night John Boy.
“I’m open to anything, but I won’t like make the plans,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Mahika Kukday
“You think you guys don’t annoy me? Always like ‘Can I get this Ray, can I get that Ray?’,” he told The Crow’s Nest. “But I love you guys, so it’s a good annoying.”
