by Patti Connor
Staff Writer
Back in the 1950s, at a time when Julia Child was just beginning to wage her campaign to educate the taste buds of what was admittedly a fairly provincial American public, Patricia Wainer, nee McCormick, was cutting her teeth on fine dining at the elbow of her father, in no less an august setting than The River Club.
At that time, the private club was located in the Aetna Building, then the tallest building in Florida. Recalled Wainer, who was about 10 at the time, “Daddy always ordered for us. The sequence was always the same. First, we’d have the vichyssoise; then we’d have the crabmeat imperial. I can still hear Daddy telling us how to eat the crab: ‘Now, don’t stab it, scoop it, from the bottom!’ ”
Virtually addicted to spaghetti at the time, it was with more than a little reluctance that Wainer allowed her father to talk her into trying the roquefort dressing resting atop the restaurant’s signature wedge of lettuce salad.
“For a 10-year-old, that was pretty sophisticated,” said Wainer, who admitted that the experience launched an immediate — and abiding — love of the rich, creamy dressing.
At the time Wainer, like many little girls, was fascinated with horses.
“I remember that the maitre d’ looked exactly like the jockey Eddie Arcaro. In fact, I was convinced it really was Eddie, working his off-season job!”
For Wainer, those long-ago evenings at The River Club were instructional, not only from a culinary perspective, but from another perspective. A college French major who upon graduation went on to teach French at Fletcher High School, “It always impressed me that the waiters pronounced vichyssoise the way it’s supposed to be, as if there’s a ‘z’ at the end, instead of dropping the ‘e’ and saying ‘vichysSOI,’ like most people do,” she said.
Returning to Jacksonville after spending a year in France, “It occurred to me that you actually could start a business, just going around and telling people the correct way to pronounce vichyssoise.”
Fast forwarding to a hot, mid-July afternoon in 2002, David Wainer, Patricia’s son and a third-generation member, is drinking a Coca-Cola and watching a golf tournament on television in the elegantly understated bar of The River Club, now located on the 34th and 35th floors of Independent Square.
Wainer, 32, a partner with the law firm of Ford, Miller, and Wainer, joined The River Club in August 1997.
“My uncle [Wade McCormick, Patricia’s brother], called me and said, ‘David, you work downtown and you’re a lawyer. You have to join The River Club.’ It’s a wonderful place to go, when you want to get away. And, to borrow from the ‘Cheers’ theme, it’s a place where everybody knows your name,” said Wainer, adding that when he walks in for happy hour, not only does the bartender greet him by name, but his drink of choice, bourbon on the rocks, is sitting on the bar waiting for him.
The River Club opened in 1954. That’s when the late James Stockton met with Charles W. Campbell to discuss forming a men’s luncheon club similar to those in New York City and other metropolitan cities.
Once the bastion of sedate, middle-aged businessmen almost exclusively, the club today attracts an equal number of younger members. Its first female member was Dr. Fran Kinne, former president of Jacksonville University. She was admitted in 1985, following the death of her husband, a member before her. Shortly after women were allowed to join, membership increased to 1,701 members, an all-time high, according to general manager Dan Carusone.
“With a membership fee of $1,500, many people either were placed on waiting lists or were simply turned away,” said Carusone.
In 1996,when membership plummeted to an all-time low of 1,305, The Ritz-Carlton, renowned for its overall success and impeccable service, was signed to a five-year management contract.
With a current membership of 1,500, “There are a lot of young professionals like me, who like to go to The River Club because they know it’s a nice, quiet place,” said Wainer.
Since he joined Wainer “probably” has sponsored “close to” a 50-50 split, including spouses, between men and women.
As a showcase for Jacksonville, few would disagree that, at least as far as view goes, The River Club is unparalleled.
“It’s a very professional atmosphere, just very classy, and that always impresses my customers,” said Walter Dickinson, president of Colliers Dickinson, who takes most of his out-of-town clients there for lunch. A member for “at least” 25 years, “it’s definitely not just another restaurant,” said Dickinson, who usually lunches there “at least eight to 10 times a month.”
At the behest of younger members, the club recently has relaxed its dress code. Dickinson, for one, thinks that’s a shame.
“I always wear a coat and tie to work, so I’m in favor of looking as professional as you can. It sure looks a lot better than going around in short sleeves and blue jeans,” he said.
Patricia Wainer agrees: “I happen to agree with dress codes. If the Ritz-Carlton decides it wants to change the image, that’s a different matter. But, as the city’s most elegant restaurant, personally, I think, it deserves to be honored.”