Another family-run restaurant in Richmond will serve its final dish to the public and close its doors.
Ricky’s Country Restaurant, at the north end of No. 3 Road near the Yaohan Centre, will say goodbye to its customers for the last time on Saturday, April 13.
Run by Ali Ramji and his family for just over 32 years, the popular old-style country diner used to be under the ABC Country brand, before it was bought out about five years ago by Ricky’s.
Although turning 65 this year, Ramji said the closure is nothing to do with retiring and was nothing to do with Richmond’s changing demographics, with Asian cuisine obviously being more popular.
“We’ve owned and operated this as a family since March, 1987. In fact, we had been open for 32 years and one month yesterday,” Ramji told the Richmond News on Friday.
“There’s been a lot of development and speculation around here, which has driven up the taxes and affecting smaller businesses, such as this one.
“Our customer base has been pretty steady over the years; it’s more that our costs have continued to rise so much.
“And then there are things such as Skip the Dishes and DoorDash. We are part of that as well, but there are some outlets that don’t even have a restaurant open to the public that are using those services; they don’t have the overheads we do.
“I do turn 65 this year, but don’t even mention that word. I have two other locations still to run, in Cloverdale and Coquitlam.”
Ramji said he feels “bitter-sweet” about the closure and would prefer to remember all the great Richmond customers he has met over the decades.
“Good things come to an end, but it is time to move on, that’s life,” he said.
“This whole week has been very emotional, with customers saying goodbye. But it has been good for the family over the years.
“And I would love to say a big thank you to all the people in Richmond who have supported us in those years.”
