Nashville North - (WayJay Club, Riviera Club)
Six point six acres of land perched along the Credit River in Norval, Ontario, just outside of Halton Hills. Quiet, semi-rural... Not exactly the place you'd expect to find a rowdy night club, but 530 Guelph Street became one of the most well-known entertainment venues in Southern Ontario, for a plethora of good and bad reasons.
Built in 1961 as "The Riviera Club" the two-storey Octagon-shaped structure featured 43 feet of glass exterior walls and quickly became a local landmark. Dining tables were placed along the large floor to ceiling windows and the sunken dance floor allowed an un-obstructed view of the river. The club's grand opening was on New Years eve, 1961.
While the club mainly hosted dances, including a "teens-only" night where non-alcoholic beverages were served by waitresses in bunny costumes. They also hosted charity galas, fashion and talent shows live music concerts and more. The most popular concert in it's early years was Ronnie Hawkins who attracted over 1,000 patrons over two nights.
The facility was often rented out by local clubs for meetings and events, even being rented by the Federal Government for a public consultation meeting.
The club had a major identity crisis and underwent several changes of name before the turn of the century going by "The Burgundy Club" and "The WayJay" In the 70s an addition off the side was built, which became a 'fitness club' including amenities such as an outdoor pool, an indoor pool and a gym.
The building began to show it's age and was sold to a local businessman named Albert Euteneier in 1989 who renamed it "Club 2000". That would only last a few years until Eutenier leased the property to an Ontario numbered company in 1994.
Under new tenants, the building became a country-themed bar known as "Nashville North" the Americana-Country style blended in perfectly. The music was mainly country music with some top hits sprinkled in. Once a week the venue would host Line Dancing Night, drawing huge crowds. The parking lot could hold up to 400 cars and the building had a capacity of 900.
The main feature point was the center stage where musicians could play live music, the 34ft tall ceilings provided great acoustics and the dance floor was 2100sq ft of hardwood. Three bars provided a wide range of beverages and an industrial kitchen was capable of providing anything from appetizers to full-blown catering services. The second storey featured a bar, pool tables and a balcony overlooking the lower level. An outdoor gathering area was created and an additional bar was added outside, dubbed "My Cottage".
The building was even chosen as a movie set in 2002, for the movie "The Recruit" featuring Al Pacino
In December of 2004 the Liquor Control Board revoked Nashville North's liquor license after multiple cases of overcrowding, over-serving and creating an unsafe environment for the neighbourhood with several neighbours complaining about loud music and drunken fights occurring in the late hours. The case was appealed and the license was returned, only for the club to incur 14 more charges in the next 12 months. Over $400,000 in court fees later, they had the liquor license returned.
In 2006 the bar's increasing popularity continued to be an issue, drunk patrons were wandering the neighbourhood causing property damage and several violent fights broke out in the parking lot. Halton Regional Police received an uptick in calls to the surrounding area. More complaints were issued to the Liquor Control Board and the facility lost their liquor licence again. The property owner went to court to evict the tenants and shut the bar down.
In an attempt to use the space in the meantime, the fitness club added four beach volleyball courts and began to host adult league games five days a week along with volleyball competitions.
Trying to shed it's bad reputation, Nashville North reopened as "West Seven Night Club" in 2007 with the help of former manager of Club 2000, Daniel Biagioni. Daniel released a long statement in the local paper, promoting the new security technology the club had purchased and promised to hire private security to patrol the nearby neighborhoods to reduce property damage by patrons. A partnership with Coke-Cola provided an alcohol-free drink station and a shuttle service for intoxicated patrons to get home. Upgrades to the venue's lighting and audio systems were made to reduce local sound/light pollution.
In the club's later hours the parking lot was often patrolled by police who claimed the back lot was used by people to do drugs and have sex. This actually led to one officer being charged with Dishonourable Conduct after he stopped a car that had left the West 7 Parking lot around 1AM and asked the female passenger sexual questions regarding the club's "Wet T-shirt Thursdays".
The rebranding proved unsuccessful and by 2011 the club transitioned back into being known as Nashville North. The club hosted weekly line dancing, a college night and a top 40's night drawing in a wide range of patrons. The club surpassed it's previous success level - having over 1,000 people attend the Trevor Guthrie concert in 2015.
In 2016 Nashville North hosted a Breast Cancer Awareness event, offering to waive the admission free for women not wearing bras that evening. The event raised some eyebrows and drew criticism from breast cancer survivors who called the event needlessly sexual'. In the end over $1,025 was raised and donated to "Rethink Breast Cancer".
A steady rotation of themes and events kept Nashville North in the top trending lists of nightclubs to visit in the GTA. So patrons were shocked when without warning, the Nashville North social media accounts posted that April 12th 2019 was the last day of business and the club would be closing. It was posted for sale by Denise Dilby of Royal Lepage shortly after that and would remain on the market for just over 2 years, finally selling in April of 2021.
Incredibly - The main octagon shaped building was added to the "Halton Hills Heritage Registry" in 2018. That means it is seen by the city as having significant heritage attributes, but not enough to qualify for Provincial protections. The entire acreage sits within a designated floodplain, so residential construction is banned but there are plenty of commercial options available for redevelopment.
Built in 1961 as "The Riviera Club" the two-storey Octagon-shaped structure featured 43 feet of glass exterior walls and quickly became a local landmark. Dining tables were placed along the large floor to ceiling windows and the sunken dance floor allowed an un-obstructed view of the river. The club's grand opening was on New Years eve, 1961.
While the club mainly hosted dances, including a "teens-only" night where non-alcoholic beverages were served by waitresses in bunny costumes. They also hosted charity galas, fashion and talent shows live music concerts and more. The most popular concert in it's early years was Ronnie Hawkins who attracted over 1,000 patrons over two nights.
The facility was often rented out by local clubs for meetings and events, even being rented by the Federal Government for a public consultation meeting.
The club had a major identity crisis and underwent several changes of name before the turn of the century going by "The Burgundy Club" and "The WayJay" In the 70s an addition off the side was built, which became a 'fitness club' including amenities such as an outdoor pool, an indoor pool and a gym.
The building began to show it's age and was sold to a local businessman named Albert Euteneier in 1989 who renamed it "Club 2000". That would only last a few years until Eutenier leased the property to an Ontario numbered company in 1994.
Under new tenants, the building became a country-themed bar known as "Nashville North" the Americana-Country style blended in perfectly. The music was mainly country music with some top hits sprinkled in. Once a week the venue would host Line Dancing Night, drawing huge crowds. The parking lot could hold up to 400 cars and the building had a capacity of 900.
The main feature point was the center stage where musicians could play live music, the 34ft tall ceilings provided great acoustics and the dance floor was 2100sq ft of hardwood. Three bars provided a wide range of beverages and an industrial kitchen was capable of providing anything from appetizers to full-blown catering services. The second storey featured a bar, pool tables and a balcony overlooking the lower level. An outdoor gathering area was created and an additional bar was added outside, dubbed "My Cottage".
The building was even chosen as a movie set in 2002, for the movie "The Recruit" featuring Al Pacino
In December of 2004 the Liquor Control Board revoked Nashville North's liquor license after multiple cases of overcrowding, over-serving and creating an unsafe environment for the neighbourhood with several neighbours complaining about loud music and drunken fights occurring in the late hours. The case was appealed and the license was returned, only for the club to incur 14 more charges in the next 12 months. Over $400,000 in court fees later, they had the liquor license returned.
In 2006 the bar's increasing popularity continued to be an issue, drunk patrons were wandering the neighbourhood causing property damage and several violent fights broke out in the parking lot. Halton Regional Police received an uptick in calls to the surrounding area. More complaints were issued to the Liquor Control Board and the facility lost their liquor licence again. The property owner went to court to evict the tenants and shut the bar down.
In an attempt to use the space in the meantime, the fitness club added four beach volleyball courts and began to host adult league games five days a week along with volleyball competitions.
Trying to shed it's bad reputation, Nashville North reopened as "West Seven Night Club" in 2007 with the help of former manager of Club 2000, Daniel Biagioni. Daniel released a long statement in the local paper, promoting the new security technology the club had purchased and promised to hire private security to patrol the nearby neighborhoods to reduce property damage by patrons. A partnership with Coke-Cola provided an alcohol-free drink station and a shuttle service for intoxicated patrons to get home. Upgrades to the venue's lighting and audio systems were made to reduce local sound/light pollution.
In the club's later hours the parking lot was often patrolled by police who claimed the back lot was used by people to do drugs and have sex. This actually led to one officer being charged with Dishonourable Conduct after he stopped a car that had left the West 7 Parking lot around 1AM and asked the female passenger sexual questions regarding the club's "Wet T-shirt Thursdays".
The rebranding proved unsuccessful and by 2011 the club transitioned back into being known as Nashville North. The club hosted weekly line dancing, a college night and a top 40's night drawing in a wide range of patrons. The club surpassed it's previous success level - having over 1,000 people attend the Trevor Guthrie concert in 2015.
In 2016 Nashville North hosted a Breast Cancer Awareness event, offering to waive the admission free for women not wearing bras that evening. The event raised some eyebrows and drew criticism from breast cancer survivors who called the event needlessly sexual'. In the end over $1,025 was raised and donated to "Rethink Breast Cancer".
A steady rotation of themes and events kept Nashville North in the top trending lists of nightclubs to visit in the GTA. So patrons were shocked when without warning, the Nashville North social media accounts posted that April 12th 2019 was the last day of business and the club would be closing. It was posted for sale by Denise Dilby of Royal Lepage shortly after that and would remain on the market for just over 2 years, finally selling in April of 2021.
Incredibly - The main octagon shaped building was added to the "Halton Hills Heritage Registry" in 2018. That means it is seen by the city as having significant heritage attributes, but not enough to qualify for Provincial protections. The entire acreage sits within a designated floodplain, so residential construction is banned but there are plenty of commercial options available for redevelopment.
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