Jamie Wray managed ‘prestigious’ venues loved by celebrities
Jamie Wray worked in Liverpool’s hospitality scene before moving to Spain(Image: Supplied)
A man who once ran one of Liverpool’s most popular celebrity venues has returned home to tackle ‘mediocre places’. Jamie Wray, 36, from West Derby, started working in The Living Room as a teenager.
The Living Room had a bar and restaurant on the ground floor and a club called Mosquito below. Opening in 2000, the business served 120 customers and specialised in trendy cocktails and stylish food.
Jamie became the youngest restaurant manager in the venue’s parent company aged just 19, entertaining a star-studded guest list including Katie Price, Steven and Alex Gerrard, Coleen and Wayne Rooney, Liz McClarnon, Westlife, Abbey Clancy, and Samuel L Jackson.
Jamie later went on to work in Tenerife but has chosen to return to his home city to tackle ‘mediocre places’. Speaking to the ECHO about what it was like in The Living Room, he said: “I started working there when I was about 17. It was a prestigious place back in the day.
“Looking back, it was hard I think. But what I mastered was hospitality – hospitality is just being hospitable. It’s making people feel special. It’s making people feel connected.
“Since I was a young boy, I’ve always just been fascinated by how to make people laugh, smile and connect with them to make an impression in an authentic way.”
Jamie later left the venue to start his own consultancy company. His past at The Living Room resurfaced though when he was offered a job in Tenerife by a restaurant group. He expanded that business from six to 14 sites with 400 employees.
He said: “One day I just received a phone call from another guy who’s from Liverpool. He actually used to come into The Living Room. He loved the set-up and he was looking for somebody from that company to come and help him do well over there.
Jamie is hoping to give advice to others in his position(Image: Supplied)
“I wasn’t expecting to move away. I went over as a consultant for three days and at the end of that, there was a full-time job for me to move over there.”
Despite enjoying the warmer climate, Jamie was convinced to move back home after spotting something on his trips back to the UK. He said: “I was in Tenerife for six years. I was absolutely sick of flying back and seeing mediocre places.
“I’m sure wherever you go somewhere now I’m sure that you will witness it. You go into a supermarket and the cashier doesn’t look at you. You go into a restaurant and the service is mediocre.
“You call up to cancel your phone bill and you’re speaking to a robot. It was just annoying me. The customer experience was just lacking completely.”
To address this, Jamie set up Ways To WOW, a business and personal development group in Liverpool. The business has created a two day Build a Brand Summit, which will take place at the INNSiDE By Melia hotel next week. Jamie says the summit will help business owners and entrepreneurs take their firms to new heights.
Jamie said: “My slogan is, if you’re not ‘wowing’, you’re not winning. I think most companies can wow you once, but to wow consistently, you need process and procedures. If you can create a wow moment for somebody, both you and that person get personal fulfilment.
“We’ve worked with hospitals, dental surgeries, law firms, any service based industry basically. That’s who this summit is designed for.
“I’m really excited to be doing this in Liverpool. It’s the north west’s first immersive brand building event. I left sunny Tenerife to come back to help the city. I feel like Liverpool needs it. The world’s becoming robotic and human connected has never been so important.”
Jamie feels he could have benefited from such a summit when he was starting out. He said: “Someone said to me years ago, you’re most positioned to serve the person you once were.
“Sometimes we overthink and we procrastinate. But when you can get out your head and get into your heart will tell you actually, which direction to go because your heart is your passion.
“I think hospitality has always been at my heart. I never knew that I would get to this stage but when you let your heart take over, it will guide you to where you need to go. When you think about something, you always mess it up because you overthink it.”
The Build a Brand Summit will take place at INNSiDE By Melia on Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 May on Old Hall Street in the city centre. You can find out more here.