Help Save Don Ramon's

HELP SAVE DON RAMON’S 


Nothing could have prepared San Franciscan restaurant owners to handle the crippling effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic which has completely changed the way restaurants do business and resulted in 40% them closing their doors permanently.

As if things couldn’t seem more bleak, COVID-19 has also created a ripe environment for hard money lenders to foreclose on vulnerable restaurants. 

Unfortunately, our beloved Don Ramon’s Restaurant fell victim to one of these hard money lenders when the ceiling in the men’s bathroom caved in last year and they were forced to make emergency repairs.  Due to loss of income, caused by Shelter-In-Place restrictions on dine-in restaurants, Don Ramon’s missed their first mortgage payment ever on this loan in April.  It wasn’t until they received the following month’s statement that they noticed the lender was charging them a usurious default interest rate which compounds at an interest rate that makes it impossible for any business to cure and guarantees impending foreclosure on their property.

We cannot allow community jewels like Don Ramons to close.  They are a cultural landmark and an institution which has been at the forefront of establishing and promoting the best of San Francisco’s values; Family, Justice, immigrants rights, women empowerment, charity, and love for their neighbors.

Since 1975, Don Ramon’s has served as the go to place to celebrate birthdays, happy hours, political gatherings, company holiday parties, and large family style gatherings.  If you’ve ever had their chicken enchiladas or strawberry margaritas then you’d understand why they have remained a SF hometown favorite for almost half a century.

While Don Ramon’s has been proud of their ability to fill our bellies with delicious food, their biggest accomplishment to date is their ability to capture our hearts and soul.  In 2017, Don Ramon’s captured the national spotlight for partnering with the Golden Gate Restaurant Association to establish sanctuary workplaces for undocumented employees and ensure business owners know their rights if federal immigration officials raid their establishments. Don Ramon’s was more than happy to become one of the first sanctuary restaurants in SF and hosted the first series of legal workshops for restaurants owners and their employees. This movement became known as “SANCTUARY RESTAURANTS: A Place At the Table for Everyone”. 

Don Ramon’s has always courageously fought to uphold San Francisco values and now its our turn as community to stand up and fight to save them from this Florida-based lender. They are fighting to keep their doors open every day but they need YOUR HELP TODAY!

How many times have you wished someone would’ve told you how you could support restaurants like Don Ramon’s before they shuttered?  Nothing can be worse than hearing about another one of our culturally sustaining and Latino Legacy businesses closing up shop forever. 

Well, here’s your chance to HELP!  We are humbly appealing to individuals of goodwill and the private sector to help us raise $300,000 to save Don Ramon’s!  We’re exploring every means of support possible, including federal and local grants and loans, but these funds are not guaranteed to come in, and they won’t meet the needs of our short-term future. And so, we must humbly ask for your support. We know what a difficult and uncertain time this is for everyone, and we understand that there are many individuals and organizations in need. If you’re in a position to support us we’ll be extremely grateful to receive that help, and any donation to this campaign will contribute to the cash resources we need to get out of this predatory loan product. And if you could let others know about this campaign, we’d appreciate that immensely, too.