Ramsey’s closure exemplifies challenges for local businesses

As employees still question what happened, the fallout from the closing of Ramsey's American Grill on Thursday is making a number of people in Maricopa wonder what other businesses may be facing when it comes to survivability.

A note on the door at the establishment on Thursday read that the landlord, Barclay Group, had placed a lien on the property. Calls to Deborah Fry of Barlcay Group for more details on the closing Thursday were not returned.

Mayor Kelly Anderson said he has a lot of questions on just what happened.

"Ramsey (Harkness) does a good job supporting the community," Anderson said. "It is time for the community to step up, shop locally and spend the tax dollars here." Anderson added that he doesn't know the particulars in the closing of the restaurant; however he anticipated talking to Harkness in the next day or so.

Anderson said he believes Maricopa needs to do more helping businesses with their plans, especially those who are running a business for the first time. "Many of them need a helping hand," Anderson said.

On a personal note, Anderson said he dined at Ramsey's three to four times a week. "You always feel welcomed there," Anderson added.

City of Maricopa Management Assistant Danielle Casey said there are economic development initiatives in place to assist existing businesses.

"Last October, Maricopa's Economic Development Department kicked off its Business Retention and Expansion program, aimed at keeping existing businesses in the area and assisting in their growth," Casey said. "The BRE program consists of conducting one-on-one interviews with business owners, following up with any information or special assistance needed. Assistance can range from providing additional information about networking opportunities in the community to working to recruit requested ancillary business services to the area. The data collected can be analyzed and used to identify early warning signs, or in identifying companies that could rapidly expand production with the help of additional space or perhaps venture capital financing."

Casey noted that this past spring, through partnership with the Central Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation, Maricopa became a member of the statewide "Building Bridges to Businesses" program sponsored by Arizona Public Service. Membership in this program has established an ongoing business retention and expansion strategy aimed at helping to develop and grow local business in the Maricopa community. The program provides a database tool, data analysis and interview training, materials and guidebooks for conducting business interviews at no cost to member communities.

"In continued partnership with the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce, the city is dedicated to ongoing communication efforts with all members of the local business community, the foundation of Maricopa's economy," Casey said.

For employees and patrons of Ramsey's, though, it appears to be too little, too late.

U.S. Bar Poker owner Chris Kirkpatrick had to move quickly Thursday as a poker night at Ramsey's had to be canceled. Kirkpatrick had poker nights at Ramsey's on Mondays and Thursdays since early in 2006.

"We'd get anywhere from 40 to 60 people on a night," Kirkpatrick said. "I found out yesterday afternoon of the closing and I had to scramble to try and figure everything out. We were just surprised. We had tournaments at other venues Thursday night, so people went to them if they wanted to play."