Wayne's is where the heart is

Wayne's world: The friendly bar and infamous 'pit' beyond. At the height of summer, there is not an inch of floor (or table) space that is not occupied, making for some hot and sweaty nights...

Stretching from a civilised, informal seating area in the top bar down to a long, low-ceilinged 'pit', photos of staff with celebrity customers adorn the walls at one end while, at the other, rows of tables stay sturdy under the weight of the punters who infamously dance on them into the wee hours.

Taking to the table tops
Where the 'table-dancing' tradition comes from current manager, Clift, has no idea: “It began long before I arrived [over five years ago], it was probably due to a lack of space. They're the same tables as when I started though, which is incredible… you should see the size of some of the people who get on them."

The hardy tables/dance platform - whether cause or symptom - demonstrate better than anything Wayne’s longstanding reputation as one of Nice's premier party bars and live music venues.

Opened in 1992 by the eponymous, and now legendary, Wayne, it was one of the first expat pubs in Nice. Since then it has evolved, not under the direction of any of its owners (it’s changed hands three times) but organically, as if it has had a life of its own.

“No one's really changed anything since Wayne opened it,” Clift admits. “We may tweak occasionally but at heart it remains a place to have a fun night and listen to good music.”

Live music is a must
Bands take to the tiny stage at the far end of the bar every evening between 10.30pm and half-past-midnight. It alternates on a bi-weekly basis between their house band and a changing roster of guest bands that are brought over from the UK. According to the manager, a 'Wayne’s band' plays classic rock and pop covers and gets the crowd going.
A somewhat more mellow ambiance can be found on Sunday nights, thanks to the recently introduced acoustic session between 8 and 10pm. “Sunday is the one day of the week that can be played around with - it's not packed like it is on Saturday and not really quiet like it is on Monday,” explains Clift.

Thanks to a new chef, John Keelan, they now also offer a roast dinner and a brunch, both of which are proving popular. “The food was one area where we really wanted to improve and with John in the kitchen it's so much better than it was before.”

The English manager first met the Irish chef while working in hospitality in Ireland nearly ten years ago and he is obviously pleased to have his old friend on board. “The food is now something that we're really working on for the winter because in the summer this place is so packed it’s hard to find the space to eat, whereas in the winter locals stay longer and want to have a meal.”

Dual personality
The massive shift between seasons gives Wayne’s a somewhat schizophrenic personality. At the height of the summer, there is not an inch of floor (or table) space that is not occupied in the evening; the scene is young, hot and sweaty and the rhythm pulsates with the sound of revellers having fun.

It makes the hush that descends with the onset of winter all the more startling and strange. “I enjoy being busy so I love the summer,” Clift nods, “but I like the winter too because this is a time when you have the chance to get to know your customers properly. Plus I guess we [the staff] are getting older and in the summer the crowd is younger, although this is changing a bit, exactly because of the people working here. Five years ago the staff were 18 or 19, now we are in our late-twenties and thirties and I think customers recognise that we are people they can have a proper conversation with when they’re sat at the bar.”

Staying on
At the heart of Wayne’s are the people who work there. When Matt first arrived (he originally came to work the summer season five and a half years ago and never left) employees were largely seasonal.

However, over time more and more staff members have chosen to stay on and now many of them have been there for several years: Taryn for five years, Luke for four, co-manager Julien Ducroz for three-and-half... “It's nice that the people working here want to stay and it's unusual, especially on the Riviera, where people tend to be very transient. I know I've never worked with a better group of people than I do now,” he adds after a pause. "There is a real sense of family; we look after each other and  hang out together in our spare time.”

The Wayne’s family vibe extends to customers too, and staff members somehow miraculously remember the faces and names of customers they may have met only once before. Matt says that the skill of getting to know the people they serve comes naturally and is helped by the fact that the team have always maintained the same positions on the floor: “There are regulars who come in just to see Taryn, or Luke, who'll stop and speak to them on the street, but who  Julien or I, being behind the bar, wouldn't recognise and vice versa. There are customers who I know so well that I could stay with them in the UK, the States, Australia… for many expats here we become their first point of contact.”

Source of all knowledge
Wayne’s, you see, also functions as an 'unofficial tourist office' and the staff are routinely asked about hotels, job vacancies in the area, apartments to let. “It's surprising how many backpackers get straight off the train and come to Wayne’s, normally because someone has told them to come here first. And why not? It's nice to know when you arrive in an unfamiliar town that there is somewhere you can go.” With the ash cloud last year, for example, staff leant their phones to stranded travellers so that they could check the status of flights.

With happy customers and happy staff, things couldn’t be better in Wayne’s world than they are right now. The days when Wayne himself ran the show may be long gone but he still pops in from time to time, his legacy living on in the bar he founded almost 20 years ago. “We'd never change the name,” Clift shakes his head emphatically, "we wouldn't want to. Although I guess it's funny because when I tell my friends about the place, their reaction is often: 'Wayne's? A bit naff isn't it?' And it is I suppose, but for people who know this place it transcends the name. It just is what it is. We don't think we're better than we are, we know it’s a pub, it just happens to be a very, very good one...” His sentence is halted by a beep from the dictaphone. Clift offers to get a new set of batteries from behind the bar, even though the interview is over. “It’s no problem,” he smiles, “we’re always happy to help.”                  

HM