Wayne Cardinal remembered for his business prowess, zest for life

Clockwise, from top left, Wayne Cardinal with his '37 Coupe in '77, taking a onetime spin in a NASCAR racer, and seen at left with his brother, Rene, right, and former N.H. Gov. John Sununu. Man second from left is unidentified. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - When he wasn't working Wayne Cardinal found plenty of ways to have fun.

Cardinal, who along with his father, Leon; and brother, Rene, built a restaurant and entertainment dynamo known as Cardinal Plaza on Farmington Road, died on Saturday after a long illness. He was 67.

Cardinal Plaza got its start in 1977 when the family built their first restaurant, The Seafarer.

"After a while, we put on one addition and then another, and added the Remember When Lounge in 1987," Rene Cardinal said on Wednesday.

From then till it burned down on April 25, 1997, the Remember When Lounge was the nexus of Rochester's pop entertainment, featuring dozens of classic oldies and doo wop groups.

"We had the Drifters, Ray Peterson, Frankie Ford," Rene Cardinal recalled. "I remember going down to Logan Airport to pick up Frankie Ford. I didn't even know what he looked like, but we found him." Ford is best known for his 1959 hit "Sea Cruise."

Nearly every month the Remember When Lounge showcased a prominent doo wop or oldies group, including Del Shannon, the Coasters, the Platters and Chubby Checker to name just a few.

"We even had TV shows there," Rene Cardinal added.

During their more than 40 years working as a team, Rene said he had the culinary training while Wayne did the books.

"I had the cooking part, and Wayne did all the managerial duties, behind the scenes. We worked well together as a team," Rene Cardinal said.

But Wayne had a zest for life, too, friends and family say, including playing in a band in his youth called the Footsteps, according to his obituary in today's Rochester Voice.

He was also a charter member of the Granite State Street Rods and enjoyed driving his 37' Chevrolet Coupe. In the mid-'80s he earned his pilot's license and flew in a fighter jet. He also enjoyed spending time on his Harley.

One of his friends, Robert Coulombe Sr., of Florida, who formerly lived in Milton, said the two brothers would always come down to the Daytona 500 every year.

"They'd come down and we'd raise hell," Coulombe said today. "And yes, we drank a bit."

Coulombe said the two brothers got the idea for the Remember When Lounge from a similar styled bar in Kissimmee, Fla.

Pal Cardinal, Wayne's wife of 38 years, calls him "the big Kahuna." She has continued a stream of photographs on her Facebook page that paint the picture of a life well lived.

One friend of his, Corinna Cole of Lebanon, Maine, may have said it best on her Facebook Page on Sunday, the day after Wayne Cardinal died: "Heaven is a bit cooler today."