BARBERSHOP

The barbershop employs nine trained and state-licensed barbers and cosmetologists. The barbershop cuts average of 32,000 haircuts per year or approximately 1,000 per week. Demand for haircuts is highest in the fall semester where the barbershop averages 180 haircuts per day. Rats are required one haircut every 7 days, with each company assigned a specific day.

Standard Hours of Operation:
Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

TAILOR SHOP

The Institute's twelve tailors provide alterations, repairs and sewing to the Corps of Cadets. On average, the team handles 300 garments per week. The tailor shop operates year-round due to substantial uniform repair, maintenance and sewing requirements. VMI's talented team repairs or alters over 20,000 cadet garments per year; this includes adding class stripes and patches, nametapes, varsity letters and club sport letters, and adding or removing rank and academic stars. The tailor shop also makes all the saber slings for the Corps of Cadets. This department is instrumental in the process of issuing uniforms to the Rat mass during Matriculation, altering garments as necessary, and completing general repairs throughout a cadet's four years of training at VMI.

Standard Hours of Operation:
Mon. - Fri. 7:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. | 12:30 - 4 p.m. 

MILITARY STORE & QMD

The Military Store and Quartermaster Department have 14 employees, responsible for providing all uniform items to the Corps of Cadets, with an average of $4,500 in uniform items issued to each cadet. During Matriculation in mid-August, the team equips approximately 520 new cadets with 60,000 uniform items. All uniform items currently issued to the 1,700-cadet Corps of Cadets includes over 198,000 uniforms items, which are altered, exchanged, or replaced throughout the year as needed due to wear and tear, loss, or changes in fit due to cadet physical changes. VMI's on-hand quantities and sizes are sufficient to outfit the largest and the smallest cadets with little or no wait time.

Standard Hours of Operation:
Military Store: Mon. - Fri.  7:30 – 11 a.m. | 12 - 3:30 p.m.
QMD: Mon. - Fri. 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

ARMORY

The armory at VMI is supported by two trained, small arms repair technicians. These dedicated professionals maintain 1,485 US Army M14 rifles, 500 US Army M4 rifles, 40 US Army M249 Squad Automatic Weapons, plus over 300 cadet marksmanship-training weapons. They provide weapon maintenance support to NCAA rifle and pistol teams, club skeet and trap, and the 3-gun competitive shooting club team. Along with these arms, the team handles swords, sashes, plumes, and officer & sword-bearing NCO belts for the Corps.

Standard Hours of Operation:
Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

LAUNDRY

The laundry department has twenty-nine employees who process over 800 laundry bags every week with over 8,000 uniforms items. The cadets turn in laundry bags, white shirts and ducks on Monday mornings. The laundry department then sorts, tags, washes, dries, folds, repacks, and returns cadet laundry by Friday afternoon. The laundry department also offers a full-service dry-cleaning shop. A cadet can turn in dry cleaning by 10:00 and the items are ready for pick up by 2:00  the same day. In addition to laundering uniform items, the laundry department assists the Military Store and QMD during Matriculation by labeling all issued uniform items.

Standard Hours of Operation:
Laundry and Dry Cleaning, Mon. - Fri. 6 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Uniform and Pickup Rooms, Mon. - Fri. 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

MAILROOM

The mailroom provides comprehensive mail services to 1,700 cadets and 800 faculty & staff in 80 departments at the Institute. Over the course of a year, the mailroom processes over 177,000 pieces of outgoing mail and 36,000 pieces of incoming cadet mail and packages. The mailroom personnel make two Post-wide mail runs (pick-up & delivery) each day as well as three trips to the Lexington Post Office daily. The mailroom is also in daily coordination with FEDEX, UPS, and DHL to provide mail service to the Institute. The mailroom’s accountability system sends automatic e-mail notifications to cadets upon receipt of mail and packages. The team processes an average of 1,500 pieces of incoming mail and 700 pieces of outgoing mail per week, keeping cadets connected to family and friends, and supporting the Institute in its daily operations and collaboration with external partners.

Standard Hours of Operation:
Mon. - Fri. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

BOOKSTORE

Located in the PX, Follett manages bookstore operations for VMI. They carry new and used textbooks, as well as offer textbook rentals at a great savings to cadets. In addition to books, they carry a wide variety of school supplies, sundry items, and also VMI-branded apparel and merchandise. In addition to shopping on Post, cadets, families, and VMI fans can find apparel and gear to support the Institute and VMI Athletics at the online bookstore. The bookstore processes and ships multiple orders for customers daily, and is the place to go to get VMI gear and course materials.

Cadets, faculty, staff, and visitors alike can visit the PX inside Lejeune Hall for a delicious, quick, and convenient variety of food to satisfy any craving – whether it’s something quick between classes or settling at a table to enjoy a meal. The café features Starbucks specialty drinks, espresso, and drip coffee. Visitors can also select from handcrafted grill items at Grill 1839. The most recent addition to the PX—CINCO Cantina—offers Southwest cuisine that includes burritos, nachos, tacos, and salads.  Finally, the PX offers a variety of On the Go! sandwiches from Corner Mercantile, freshly rolled Asian Divine sushi, salads, and healthy snacks.

Standard Hours of Operation:

PX Café & C-Store
Mon. - Sat. 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun. 11 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

CINCO Cantina
Mon. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Grill 1839
Mon. - Sat. 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. | 5 - 9 p.m.
Sun. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

A new cadet activity center located on the ground floor of Crozet Hall opened in February 2023. The center has been dubbed “The Arsenal,” through a vote by the Corps of Cadets, and is for their use to relax, socialize, and enjoy televised events. The name is a nod to VMI’s history. The Virginia State Arsenal in Lexington was established in 1818, then converted into the Institute in November 1839, with the goal of educating the young men who manned the arsenal. The Arsenal has a billiards table, two large screen TVs with gaming, cable, and internet hook-ups. There are sectional sofas, and café tables and chairs. A bar and grill, run by Parkhurst Dining, VMI’s food services vendor, offers sodas, sports drinks, and specialty food items.

Standard Hours of Operation:

The Arsenal Menu