Llandudno waiters to retire after 42 years of working together

BBC News

15-03-2025

For the past 42 years they have waited tables together from morning until night, but are about to be separated by retirement.David Ellerton, 65, John Paul Rodrigues, 63 and Nelson Rodrigues, 65 are fondly known as "the three amigos" by staff and guests at the Empire Hotel in Llandudno in Conwy, north Wales.But David will work his last shift this month and Nelson will begin cutting back his hours in May."I've done my best to try to keep them here... but David has made his mind up that he's going and I'll miss him, I'll definitely miss him," said John Paul."It's the end of an era, really," said the hotel's owner Elyse Waddy.
John Paul and Nelson both started working at the hotel straight from school aged 15 and have worked there for 47 and 45 years respectively. David joined straight after catering college and has been in the job for a mere 42 years.Over the decades they've seen each other through marriages, children and grandchildren.Nelson and John Paul share a love of Liverpool FC."We have a good laugh," said Nelson."We can have a joke together, said David."But we have grumpy days."
The job is not for the faint hearted.All three do split shifts, arriving at about 07:00 GMT and finishing at about 11:30 before returning at 17:00 and finishing sometime between 21:00 and 22:00."Pretty much the whole of their time is devoted to the hotel and they've devoted all of their lives," said Elyse.At the end of a day working the 120-cover restaurant they like to compare how many steps they have clocked up."On a Sunday I do about 32,000 steps," said Nelson."If we're really busy in the summer we can say we've nearly walked to Chester - about 35 miles," said David.
The 64-room hotel in the centre of the seaside resort has been run by Elyse's family for almost 80 years and Elyse grew up there."My grandparents started in 1946, then it was my parents and then myself, and hopefully my daughter will take over from me," she said.She added that many of the staff had been there for a number of years and 80% of the guests were regulars."They all come in and say 'nice to see you, nice to see you're still here'," said Nelson."We try and entertain the guests, not to annoy them too much because they're on holiday," said David.Over the years they said they had served everyone from singer Tom Jones to politician Edwina Hart but many of the guests made a lasting impression.
"A few of the guests have nicknames," giggled David."We have a party that comes in and when they sit down for dinner they swap partners around on the chairs," explained Nelson."Dave calls them the wife swappers - he says 'ooh the wife swappers are here again'."We've told them this," said John Paul."They're all right with it. They had a good laugh."They said "99.9%" of guests were "really nice".But what makes for a difficult guest?"Vegetarian. Vegan," laughed David."People asking for things that aren't on the menu," said John Paul.
Have there been any Fawlty Towers moments over the years?"How about a porter wearing a pair of shoes from lost property and the person turning up to claim them?," laughed David."He said 'yes, I've got them on'," laughed John Paul.There have been countless incidents, like guests stuck in lifts or flooding from a bedroom cutting off the kitchen lights."Once the night porter went to drain the swimming pool but he left the drain open all night and when he came back in the morning the pool was empty," laughed John Paul."That was a big problem because it took about a week to fill it back up."
The hospitality industry is often considered a transient business with people working a season before moving on.All three said they had worked with hundreds of people who had come and gone over the years - so what has kept them there so long?"Having Christmas off," said Nelson.Each year the hotel closes for several days."They let you get on with your job," said John Paul."We just keep going."
John Paul plans to keep working for another five or six years."The guests say to me 'oh no John, what are you going to do after you've lost your two partners?' And I say 'I'm just going to have to keep going and see what happens'," he said.David is looking forward to the free time."It's one of those things, you can't go on forever and I'm getting quite used to the idea."He plans to visit family and friends and also his beloved Railway Museum in York.Nelson plans to ease himself in slowly by cutting back his hours and taking more holidays."You think about all the years you've worked here and that you're going to miss it," he said."After 45 years you're bound to miss it... I'm here more time than I am at home.""We've all grown up together and now we're growing old together," said Elyse."It's starting to sink in a bit and yeah, I'll miss them a lot... it's the end of an era."