On October 1, the tide will change at The Wharf, as longtime bartender Danny Rayder completes his final shift.
“I don’t want this to be about me,” he insists, as the famed Rockaway sunset spot sees the sunset of his 40-plus-year career behind the bar. “Everybody has a story.”
That approach has served the longtime bartender and accomplished educator well over the years as he’s welcomed countless visitors to the local landmark. Bartending at The Wharf funded his education at Brooklyn College and Southern Connecticut State University, and supplemented his income before, during, and after his work as a teacher and administrator.
As a teenager, Rayder was coached by The Wharf’s owner at the time, Bob Leckie, while playing basketball at St. Francis de Sales. “He suggested I just come in on a Thursday night and work,” Rayder said. His current weekly shift – and final shift – is, fittingly, a Thursday lunch. “Jimmy [Miles, also an owner] sat at the bar and had a cigarette and a drink and watched me work. He kept saying ‘OTJT’ – ‘on the job training’… I remember my first night just going behind the bar for two hours…and it was by far the greatest way to start.”
That was in 1983.
Since then, Rayder has been a fixture at The Wharf, pouring beers and shaking drinks for locals and visitors alike. A favorite recent memory came with the advent of the Rockaway Ferry service, which introduced The Wharf and its lifelong regulars and residents to a new audience starting in 2017.
“I like to ask people, ‘So, you Rockaway people?’” Rayder said. It’s his point of entry into friendly conversation, and often a telling detail. He remembers a couple who replied that they were from Banff, Canada.
“I asked, ‘What brings you here?’” Rayder recalled. The pair responded that they were visiting the seaport in Manhattan and asked for suggestions on how to spend their day. New Yorkers directed them to take the ferry to the end of the line, and they were told, as Rayder said, “…‘there’s a little bar right by the ferry; you’ll see the bar.’ So that’s what they did, and they stayed for five hours. How else are you gonna meet somebody from Banff, Canada? It was just so cool.”
It’s not Rayder’s only exciting encounter with waterfront passers-by. He fondly recalls the Concorde floating beside The Wharf en route from JFK Airport to its current berth aboard the Intrepid Museum on the Hudson River in 2003.
“Who gets to see the Concorde? That’s amazing,” he recalled thinking.
Other memorable waterfront adventures include a car, with all its lights on, floating past.
“I said to Jimmy, who was working with me, ‘Can you verify what we’re looking at?’” Rayder said. It turned out that the vehicle had been abandoned and was drifting across Jamaica Bay.
But unexpected watercraft are just the surface of Rayder’s memories of his time at The Wharf. He enthusiastically describes “Red Day,” a moniker coined for a former bartender nicknamed Red, on New Year’s Day each year, when all patrons wear red and drink for half price. (IYKYK.) March Madness is another highlight, with “basketball from noon until midnight on four TVs,” and a lively, friendly crowd enjoying the games and each other.
That camaraderie between guests and staff has been a reason for Rayder’s long history. Asked for his best advice for first-time visitors, he’s quick to respond: “Sit outside at the bar and meet the locals,” he said, adding that “people like to hear [that it’s your first time].” Anything else not to miss? “Sit outside so you can see the sunset,” he said, noting that seats at the outdoor bar between the two cash registers typically offer the best views, which can range from the Manhattan skyline to the pillars of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
Rayder credits the owners of The Wharf with creating an enduring local favorite for both staff and guests alike. He describes his years working there as “positive, simple, and care-free,” and emphasizes their commitment to evolving the storied space, including restroom renovations and adding frozen drinks and the outdoor pizza oven.
“Our owners are awesome to work for, and they’re open to suggestions and truly want to hear what the customers want,” he said. The most challenging part of his job has been “making sure that every guest is happy,” sometimes with competing interests – but he’s grateful for the support of the owners and other staff while he tends to the needs and wants of every visitor.
Rayder was a regular fixture at The Wharf until 2003, when his third son was born; then working as an assistant principal, he no longer had his summers free to tend bar, as he had during his time as a teacher. But living nearby, he always felt close to the place, and when COVID hit and a lunch shift became available, he was happy to take it.
“Since COVID, I’ve been working one full day a week,” he said, welcoming regulars and first timers alike on Thursday lunch shifts. That tenure has led to some new and vivid memories, including during the recent solar eclipse in 2024.
“We put a note in The Rockaway Times about the solar eclipse: a special drink-of-the-day, and with that you got a pair of eclipse viewing glasses for $8,” Rayder said. “Around 12:30, people started coming in, having a drink and getting their glasses.” So many guests arrived that Rayder asked how they knew about the special, and some revealed that they’d visited Harbor Optics nearby for glasses and were directed to check out The Wharf. “It was one of my fun days,” he said, making sure to recognize their nearby neighbors (and thank them for the support) at the family eye-care center. A few guests even eschewed the drink and simply paid $8 for the glasses; Rayder made certain that those (paid-for!) drinks went to regulars at the bar.
So, what’s next for a life-long Rockaway guy? Rayder and his wife of 36 years plan to travel, including spending time with their four children, one as far away as New Orleans.
“I feel pretty lucky to be healthy. Your health is everything,” he said as he contemplates his next chapter. He tries “to try to stay focused on what’s important, but my thing is just being positive as much as you can.”
Danny Rayder’s final shift at The Wharf will be lunch on Thursday, October 1. Service begins at 9 a.m.
