Ramsey’s owner confident that students will find their way to new location
Ramsey’s regulars Anthony Gay and Arturo A Sandoval, fibers professor at University of Kentucky School of Art, enjoying their meal at the new Ramsey’s location on West Zandale Dr. on Saturday, February 15, 2014, in Lexington, Ky. Photo by Kalyn Bradford
February 18, 2014
By Will Wright
The owner of Ramsey’s is confident that the relationship between UK and his chain of Lexington diners will remain strong after the move from East High Street near campus to just off of Nicholasville Road.
Owner Rob Ramsey said the new restaurant at 151 W. Zandale Drive has been successful since the opening last week. About 20 students use their UK Plus Account there each day, the same amount as the old location.
“I’m optimistic that students will realize that we’re not that far from campus,” Ramsey said. “We’re just in the other direction.”
After 24 years at the corner of East High and Woodland Avenue, Ramsey confirmed at the end of January that he would be leaving the building, one of four Ramsey’s diners.
For some students living near Waller Avenue and Elizabeth Street, the new location is actually closer than High Street.
Kalah Lusk, a business management senior, is one student who has visited the new Ramsey’s since it opened.
“I kind of liked the smallness of the old location,” Lusk said. “(The new one) is not as intimate.”
The restaurant may be more visible to traffic on Nicholasville Road, but she said that as the years pass, students may forget the diner’s tie with UK.
“They just need to make sure they stay connected with students,” she said.
Even though there is skepticism among students about Ramsey’s decision to move, Ramsey said the new building is a great improvement.
“To say the other kitchen was run-down is the understatement of the year,” Ramsey said. “I’ve taken 25 years of experience and designed the kitchen I really want.”
Many of the Ramsey’s furniture and decorations were taken to the new location, including the chairs, tables, bar stools and the jersey of former UK quarterback Tim Couch. But, the building itself is much different.
With 40 percent more seating than the High Street location, Ramsey said food has been flying out of the kitchen. The new building also has an air-conditioned kitchen, something Ramsey said employees will enjoy during the summer.
The High Street kitchen would frequently reach 110 degrees, Ramsey said, so to increase morale he gave staff members $20 when the temperature reached 100 degrees.
Though the moods of student customers are hard to determine, Ramsey said his diner has been with UK too long to just be forgotten, and some students feel the same way.
“(The new location) is not as appealing,” said Jonathan Dunn, a journalism freshman. “But it’s a good place so I’d probably make the drive out there.”